ATD LINES RAILWAY BUSINESS CAR SERVICES-COACH YARD SERVICES: Amtrak Private Car Notice 5-2008 California Zephyr & Empire Builder Service Disruption and St. Louis Station Service Impacted Due To UP Track Work

Private Car Notice 5-08

Subject:

California Zephyr & Empire Builder Service Disruption
St. Louis Station Service Impacted Due To UP Track Work

Date: June 13, 2008 From: Don Cushine

California Zephyr & Empire Builder – Service Disruption

Due to the excessive rains in the Midwest, the BNSF, UP and CP railroads are experiencing severe flooding problems. In fact, the Iowa DOT has closed Interstate 80 until further notice due to this flooding. Amtrak, BNSF, UPRR AND CPRR have been and will continue to monitor rivers in the Midwest due to excessive rain and projected flood stages in many areas. Major rivers in many areas are at major flood stage, and in some cases are not expected to crest until June 17-18 of next week.

Therefore, the regular operation of the California Zephyr (Trains #5 & 6) and the Empire Builder have been impacted. Listed below is an update on the various affected railroad’s conditions.

Current Railroad Conditions

CP Railroad

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, CP reported water over rail west of Milwaukee, WI, between Watertown, WI and Reeseville, WI, 7 miles east of Columbus.

Beginning with train 7(10) and 8(8), trains 7 & 8 have been detouring over the BNSF between Chicago and Minneapolis, missing all local stops.

Alternate transportation is being provided for missed stops.

On Thursday, June 12, 2008, CP reported that water levels are not receding and they currently do not expect open railroad before Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

At 6:00PM EDT June 12, 2008, BNSF advised of a washout on the detour route being used by trains 7 & 8. The washout is reported on track 1. Track 2 has been ok for 7(12) at 25 MPH.

As a result of the washouts and high water, the bridge at MP 198.2 on the Aurora Sub is being removed from service, making any detour route for train 8(11) and 7(13) unavailable on Friday, June 13, 2008.

BNSF

Thursday, June 12, 2008, BNSF reported that they expected to remove the mainline from service on the route of the California Zephyr on Friday, June 13, 2008, due to flooding conditions from the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers. BNSF has already begun diverting rail traffic off this corridor in anticipation of the route closure on June 13, 2008.

Des Moines River

The Des Moines River at Ottumwa, IA is currently at moderate flood stage. At 1:00PM CDT, river level was 13.12 feet, 3.12 feet above flood stage. Major flooding is expected on Friday, June 13, 2008.

The Des Moines river is expected to crest at 20.7 feet, 10.7 feet above flood stage on Monday, June 16, 2008, which will be the second highest flood stage on record.

The record flood stage for the Des Moines River at Ottumwa, IA is 22.15 feet, set on July 12, 1993.

Current second highest flood stage was 20.2 feet, set June 7, 1947.

BNSF expects the route through Ottumwa to be closed through Thursday, June 19, 2008.

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River at Burlington, IA is currently at moderate flood stage. At 1:00PM CDT, river level was 18.22 feet, 3.22 feet above flood stage. Major flooding is expected on Friday, June 13, 2008. While major flooding is expected, the primary concern for BNSF is debris and unsecured river vehicles which may affect the bridge at Burlington.

BNSF is closely monitoring the river flood stages and will update Amtrak on their plans.

The Mississippi River at Burlington is expected to crest at 22.1 feet, 7.1 feet above flood on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, the second highest flood stage on record.

The record flood stage for the Mississippi River at BRL is 25.1 feet, on July 10, 1993.

The current second highest flood stage was 21.82 feet, set on May 14, 2001.

UPRR

The reroute normally used by Amtrak on the former CNW route between Chicago and Omaha is currently out of service due to flooding in several areas. UPRR reports 125 trains tied down, with an embargo on traffic into the area.

Private Car Impact

Effective immediately, there is a hold on private car movements on these two routes where regular train service is affected. Each move will be assessed on a case by case basis and we will move cars only when feasible. Several cars are already affected and as soon as conditions improve, we will operate over the entire routes.

St. Louis Station Service Impacted Due To UP Track Work

Due to UP track work, regular Amtrak train service to and from St. Louis, MO will be impacted from June 16 – 24, 2008. Regular service will be either cancelled or re-routed which will negate the opportunity to carry any private cars inclusive of the dates mentioned above to or from the St. Louis station.