Floodwater results in some Cedar Rapids rail service disruption

Heavy rain is taking its toll on railroads in the Corridor.

Rising waters have resulted in at least some rail disruptions in Cedar Rapids, according to a spokesman. Patrick Waldron, a spokesman for Canadian National Railway, said the company has a rail line that ends in Cedar Rapids.

"Floodwater as a result of the recent heavy rains has reached the CN rail yard in Cedar Rapids causing a disruption to local rail operations," Waldron wrote in an email. That means rail cars cannot be moved into the yard, he said.

He said CN is working with local customers to "address and minimize any service disruptions."

Mark Davis, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad based in Omaha, Neb., said officials are watching all the rivers in Eastern Iowa.

"So far we are in good shape," Davis said Friday afternoon. "There is one area in Tama that we are dumping some rock and raising the rail as a preventative measure, but as far as anything main line washed out right now, we're in good shape there. Nothing is out and we continue to monitor the rivers and streams."

Crews placed down rock and literally lifted the track four to six inches higher than it was, Davis said.

Jerome Lipka, president of Iowa Interstate Railroad, said the lines are still in operation.

"As far as receiving traffic from other carriers, that is still happening, but things may potentially be temporarily delayed until some of the floodwaters start receding," Lipka said.

Jeff Woods, manager of marketing and business development for Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Co., said the rail lines have not sustained any flood related damage as of Friday. There have not been any service disruptions, either.

But CRANDIC officials are keeping a close eye on water levels.

CRANDIC operates two lines which go over the Iowa River. The old main line runs down to North Liberty, Coralville and Iowa City and the line used most often, which runs down to Fairfax and the Amana Colonies, said Jeff Woods, manager of marketing and business development for CRANDIC.

"Both of those are being impacted by the water levels and we expect those impacts to continue and linger," Woods said. "At this time, we're just monitoring the entire situation very closely," he said.

The high water has reached the ballast of the tracks, which is the rock that supports the tracks, Woods said. As a result, CRANDIC has put speed restrictions on trains that are operating over the lines. Woods said this is a common practice in the rail industry when there is high water.

Railway officials are watching for the track washing out, the water taking the ballast that supports the track out or any damage to the bridges by the rails, Woods said.

"We're definitely watching the river levels and the forecast quite closely and probably will be doing so for a couple of weeks unfortunately," he said.

He said all the shippers in the area are concerned because there are multiple river basins being affected.

Woods said he does not anticipate any water hitting the railway's bridge over the Cedar River. He said the bridge was redesigned higher than it was in 2008.

"We don't anticipate any water hitting the bottom of that until and if the river reaches about 21 feet," he said. Woods said he heard water was beginning to hit the upper portion of the concrete piers.

However, he said officials don't expect any impact on the bridge until the river reaches 21 feet.