Union Pacific to Resume Limited Service on Lines

Union Pacific Corp. said Tuesday that it planned to resume limited outbound rail service Monday on its last two lines from Southern California that had been closed because of the recent rains.

But the railroad said it would continue indefinitely to block shipments from entering Southern California through normal routes in order “to control traffic in the region.”

Union Pacific closed four of its five main rail lines connecting Southern California to the rest of the nation after the storm made several sections of track impassable in California and Nevada. That brought the railroad’s freight traffic in the Los Angeles Basin to a near standstill, forcing shippers to find other routes and stranding freight at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Two of the four closed lines were reopened Jan. 12. But the last two were extensively damaged by mudslides and flooding, delaying their reopening.

One extends from Los Angeles up the coastline to the San Francisco Bay Area. Portions of that track also are used by Amtrak and commuter rail lines.

The other begins in Southern California and runs north through the Cajon Pass to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and the Midwest.

It’s a key route for shipments traveling from the Southern California ports to Chicago and other Midwest cities.

Initially, that route was closed because of damage in both the Cajon Pass and northeast of Las Vegas. The Cajon Pass damage has been repaired and the section of track between Southern California and Las Vegas has since reopened to outbound traffic.

But Union Pacific is still fixing problems on a remote 80-mile portion of the route northeast of Las Vegas, and trains won’t be able to resume moving through that area until Monday, it said.

Shipments into Southern California are still being rerouted through northern Nevada and Central California, Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said. The railroad hopes to resume service through normal routes a few days after the last two lines into the region are reopened, he said.