Union Pacific donating $250K for Hurricane Harvey relief; traffic embargoes continue

Amid suspended operations throughout the region, Union Pacific pledged $250,000 to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

The Omaha-based company, which has extensive operations and employees based in Texas, is immediately donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross and $50,000 to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.

The railroad said it will also match contributions to its “Friend to Friend” employee support network through Sept. 30, dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000. The company will also match donations made to a Disaster Relief Matching Gifts Program for Hurricane Harvey, where employees can provide funding directly to American Red Cross, Salvation Army and others organizations.

The railroad’s Southern Region is headquartered in Houston.

“Throughout the relief and recovery efforts, Union Pacific is committed to maintaining its unrelenting focus on employee, community and customer safety,” UP said in a statement.

Union Pacific said as of August 29 rail operations along the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas to Lake Charles, La., are suspended due to high water and storm damage.

“As weather and access to storm damaged areas allows, we are inspecting and repairing track, bridges and signals to return to service as quickly and safely as possible,” the railroad said. “Until the storms move out and the flooding recedes, we are not able to access or inspect our tracks and facilities in the greater Houston area. Rain and flooding continues in Houston and east of Houston into Louisiana.

The railroad noted that routes through San Antonio are opening up, allowing it to run trains north and south between San Antonio and Hearne, Texas. The Laredo gateway remains open to interchange traffic with Mexican railroads.

Livonia and Avondale shipments destined to points west of Tucson into California normally traveling through Houston will be re-routed through Longview and Fort Worth, Texas, around the flooded areas.

Embargoes remain for all rail traffic destined to Gulf Coast locations and 140 stations within the Houston Service Unit. The Brownsville interchange is similarly embargoed.