Grainnet

Repairs on Northern Iowa Flooded Rail Lines Nearly Complete; Lines Farther South Remain Flooded

This article is reprinted from the USDA's June 19 Grain Transportation Report.

Repairs on many of the flooded rail lines near completion in northern Iowa, including the Union Pacific (UP) mainline through Cedar Rapids, IA.

Repairs to washed-out short line railroad bridges located in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids are expected to require 6 months or longer.

Last Friday, UP embargoed east-west mainline traffic (except coal) through Cedar Rapids, but permits were offered for 500 carloads on Wednesday.

Rail lines in southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee are now closed due to new flooding in these areas as the river crests further south.

BNSF reports the east-west line through Quincy, IL, and main lines at several locations south of Burlington, IA, on the Mississippi River are closed.

For more information, call Surajudeen (Deen) Olowolayemo, USDA, at 202-690-1328.