Hurricane Ida threatens critical rail infrastructure in Louisiana, Mississippi

KCS’s second bridge span will speed movement of freight between the U.S. and Mexico.

File photo

Hurricane Ida is stretching a shipping industry that is already paper-thin.

Kansas City Southern has announced its main line in Louisiana is closed and has placed a pause on exchanges between railroads in New Orleans. The Class 1 company, which also closed its Gulfport-to-Hattiesburg line in Mississippi, did not know when it would be back open for business in Louisiana because crews will now need to wait for water to recede to assess and repair damage to the track.

Union Pacific, CSX, and BNSF also have lines running in and out of New Orleans, creating a perfect storm for a shipping industry that cannot have any stoppages. Freight cars will now have to be re-routed, and it usually takes weeks for the railroad network to recover when main lines are shut down.

BNSF announced its crews were already out and inspecting the main line between New Orleans and Lafayette, La.

Hurricane Ida was a Category 4 hurricane went it made landfall over the weekend. More flooding is expected as the storm moves north into the state of Mississippi.

Read more articles on track maintenance.