The Oroville Dam emergency is causing delays of 24-48 hours for Union Pacific freight moving between Oregon, Washington and Southern California.
The railroad said in a customer announcement Monday that service has been restored between Roseville and Chico Calif.
“We are watching the situation closely due to the Oroville Dam evacuation,” the railroad said.
Authorities have evacuated about 200,000 residents downstream from the dam in Northern California after a spillway began to deteriorate, threatening a large-scale breach. More water had been released through the spillway to relieve pressure on the dam, after runoff from torrential rains and snow into Lake Oroville pushed the dam – the highest in the U.S. – to near capacity.
As of late Monday the dam’s water level had begun to recede.
Union Pacific added that it continues to see flooding conditions in Northern and Central California along with Northern Nevada. “Tracks are out of service between Oroville, Calif. to Winnemucca, Nev. and from Elko, Nev. to Ogden, Utah due to sections of track that have been washed out,” the customer announcement stated.
Trains approaching those flood-impacted areas are being rerouted between Roseville, Calif. and Salt Lake City to minimize delays.
It added water has started to recede and crews are working to restore service. At this time, customer shipments may experience delays between 48-72 hours.
The railroad said that it had “limited options” to meet and pass trains over the route between Winnemucca and Salt Lake City. Instead it will be fleeting trains directionally for 12-24 hours at a time to maximize throughput. Shipments may be held along the route during this process.
Several bulk and intermodal trains will detour over the Sunset Route between El Paso, Texas and Los Angeles. Local service will also be delayed for customers in the Portola, Stockton, Roseville, Chico, Sparks, Winnemucca and Elko areas.
