NS diverts Missouri traffic due to flooding

Norfolk Southern Railway is continuing to address service interruptions due to flooding conditions in Hannibal, Missouri, the Class I announced yesterday.

The situation is requiring NS traffic between Decatur, Illinois, and Kansas City, Missouri, to be diverted and operated via St. Louis, NS officials said in an operations alert to customers. Conditions along the route are expected to improve by April 14.

Traffic is being diverted to minimize the impact, but NS customers with shipments normally moving over the route should expect delays of 12 to 14 hours, NS officials said.

NS and other railroads' flood-ravaged Midwestern tracks this spring prompted the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last month to declare an emergency event. Rivers have risen to unprecedented levels in dozens of locations due to melting snow and ice, causing power outages, breached dams and broken levees.

Numerous reports estimate the flooding could last all spring, FRA officials said in their declaration.

BNSF Railway Co., Union Pacific Railroad and Amtrak also have reported service issues related to recent flooding conditions in the Midwest.