Flooding on route to New Orleans

[jmbgeg]

We are sheduled to travel from Chicago to New Orleans on Wed 4/27 leaving Chicago at 8PM. We received a call tonight from Amtrak that there may be flooding which could cause our trip to be delayed or canceled. I can't find any more detailed information on news searches, Amtrak.com, etc... Anyone know specifically where the problem is along the route? I know there is a lot of rain in the area with potential flooding but not sure what portions of the rail line may be affected.

I just spoke with an Amtrak agent. Their next public annoucement on when the full CONO route will resume will not be until May 11.

 

[TacoMan]

The ticket agent in Meridian I spoke to yesterday said from what he hears "realistically the train probably wont be running through Memphis again till the last week of May". When he said that I was very glad I went and made other arrangements.

 

[jmbgeg]

The ticket agent in Meridian I spoke to yesterday said from what he hears "realistically the train probably wont be running through Memphis again till the last week of May". When he said that I was very glad I went and made other arrangements.

That's what I assumed. My trip is 6/5 (AGR ticket). I did not get the impression they would change the routing to a round-about itinerary until much closer to the travel date, and then I risk sleepers being sold out on the Crescent.

 

[had8ley]

Me and my Step Father will be riding the cono going NOL to CHI on Aug the 27th. will the situation will be better by then on Aug 27th?

Gee, by that time the river might be in drought conditions. This is a spring thaw event and some years are worse than others. You should have absolutely no water troubles by August unless a hurricane comes to NOL (which is the same month and almost to the day of your travel when Katrina hit). I can't give any guarantees on any issues with Amtrak. I will say they terminate service a good distance from natural disasters which is a good thing for crews and pax's safety.

 

[DaveMorehouse]

Hi. We are booked on the City of New Orleans from CHI to MCB (McComb, MS) on May 22. What is the general consensus that this will run as scheduled? Thanks in advance for replies, Dave.

 

[Gloria]

I travel the CONO both to NO and to Chicago via origination station in Memphis. There is a portion of the track in Memphis near the Pyramid that is very close to the low lying area of the Mississippi and that portion of the city has "a lot of flooding issues". There are posted pictures on Facebook of the area around the pyramid that shows the water steadily rising with evacuation orders orgoing. Portions of Beale Street are under water. It is regrettable but I don't think the CONO is going to be a full route train for several days still. There a prediction for more rain and that won't help the flooding at all. And then once the flood water recede, the tracks must be carefull inspected. I wish you travellers the best but it looks like you will face service disruptions for a few days more.

 

[TacoMan]

From the way it looks the service will be very iffy on the CONO through out May. I wouldn't put my hope in travelling that route anytime in the next 2 weeks at least. All the water that has caused the disruptions farther North is now moving South and flooding Memphis. That same water flow will eventually effect New Orleans as well. They are expecting the floods to be severe because areas of Mississippi and Louisiana have already been declared disaster areas and the rivers aren't near cresting in those areas yet.

 

[Marilee]

This is really sad about the CONO train and I feel everyone's pain as my trip scheduled to leave on April 28th was also cancelled. I had this travel booked since January 2 and I was called the day before we were suppose to leave. Anyway, we ended up driving and it wasn't so bad as we took two days to get there. One thing I want to say is that I was totally impressed at Amtrak's customer service! The whole amount of the trip was credited to my card in TWO DAYS! I can't imagine the airlines doing anything close to that!

Lastly, we didn't drive anywhere near the flooding from our Michigan home we took the direct route through Indiana, Kentucky, Tenn, Alabama and then to Gulfport, Miss where we were staying. The driving was a pain, but the vacation was worth it! We'll book another trip on the CONO as I want to stay in New Orleans the next time. It was really fun the day we spent there.

Good luck to everyone and here's hoping the water recedes soon :excl:

Marilee

 

[Kaki]

Thanks to all of you who are posting current information about the CONO!!!!

Our trip is June 9 MEM to CHI to SEA. I am watching this forum every day since it seems to be about the only place to get up to date infomation about AMTRAK.

It looks like the service is disrupted until the end of May, at least, if there is no more rain. That is cutting it pretty close for us.

If we are unable to board in MEM I am thinking we might be able to drive to Carbondale to board to get to CHI to make our connection to SEA.

I did read that the CN/North America's Railroad is reporting NO SERVICE DISRUPTIONS and it looks like Amtrak uses the same tracks. I don't understand, can anyone explain?

Thanks again for the information!!!

 

[jis]

I did read that the CN/North America's Railroad is reporting NO SERVICE DISRUPTIONS and it looks like Amtrak uses the same tracks. I don't understand, can anyone explain?

It is easier to continue running freight trains in marginal conditions since a stranded freight train is not going to have hundreds of people needing food and creature comforts, and the freight will not scream blue murder for the inconvenience caused by being stranded, and write their Congressmen and talk to newspaper and TV reporters. So when one is not reasonably certain that the journey will be completed, it is better to call it off.

 

[Kaki]

I did read that the CN/North America's Railroad is reporting NO SERVICE DISRUPTIONS and it looks like Amtrak uses the same tracks. I don't understand, can anyone explain?

It is easier to continue running freight trains in marginal conditions since a stranded freight train is not going to have hundreds of people needing food and creature comforts, and the freight will not scream blue murder for the inconvenience caused by being stranded, and write their Congressmen and talk to newspaper and TV reporters. So when one is not reasonably certain that the journey will be completed, it is better to call it off.

Maybe we should hop on one of those freight trains

 

[George Googe]

I did read that the CN/North America's Railroad is reporting NO SERVICE DISRUPTIONS and it looks like Amtrak uses the same tracks. I don't understand, can anyone explain?

It is easier to continue running freight trains in marginal conditions since a stranded freight train is not going to have hundreds of people needing food and creature comforts, and the freight will not scream blue murder for the inconvenience caused by being stranded, and write their Congressmen and talk to newspaper and TV reporters. So when one is not reasonably certain that the journey will be completed, it is better to call it off.

Maybe we should hop on one of those freight trains

The City of New Orleans runs via Cairo, Il where there has been severe flooding and washouts. The CN freight traffic that usually runs through there is being rerouted on the Edgewood cutoff (Bluford District). The CONO could also detour this way. What I don't know is whether Amtrak has chosen not to detour it or whether CN doesn't want to. You would miss stops at Carbondale and Centralia but at least the train could run (with delays, as the CN does directional running and right now has only the one line in service.

 

[scutterbear]

I just called Amtrak as I am scheduled to leave this sunday via EB (montana) to CHI and the CONO to memphis and they are not running tomorrow for sure and he didn't think they would run wed either.

I'll have to give kudos to the CS rep. He was VERY helpful which I wasn't expecting. Just jaded over the years I guess

He said they are taking it day by day right now and are watching what the flooding is doing.

On a positive note, he did tell me that if they disrupt the service they would reschedule me and I will get the same rates, with same sleeper rates, that I had originally paid for. Which is good considering the sleeper rates that I checked for next week were more than double what I originally paid.

So it looks like there is a chance I may get to stay in Montana for another week! YIPPIE!!

 

[alison duffy]

What's the situation re: Amtrak between Memphis and NOLA? We're supposed toboard 5/16/11. The regular news doesn't say anything.

 

[mongoose]

Amtrak advised yesterday (5-9-11) that service was scheduled to resume on May 12, 2011.

 

[W-N]

What's the situation re: Amtrak between Memphis and NOLA? We're supposed toboard 5/16/11. The regular news doesn't say anything.

I'm supposed to be on this train as well. A group of friends and I are heading down for a bachelor party on the 16th and returning the 18th. Here's hoping we can make it there and back before the wedding on Saturday! I'll be checking this thread and Amtrak's site regularly.

 

[TacoMan]

Last week they also said it would resume May 7, I wouldn't get to hopeful.

 

[HoosierStater]

Last week they also said it would resume May 7, I wouldn't get to hopeful.

Indeed. It's going to be a day-by-day thing; I'm sure as soon as they can do so (based on whatever criteria they use) they will. May 12 may be the earliest date they expect that to be possible, but if the floods don't recede as much as they want, don't count on the May 12 CONO going through.

 

[Amtrak George]

Latest info I found was Amtrak is not taking reservations for travel north of Memphis until May 21. Also, the CONO is still running Mphs to Nola but don't forget the southern part of the Mississippi River has tributaries backing up and causing flooding; we'll have to keep our fingers crossed. A year or two ago there was a lot of flooding in the Yazoo City area that we had to "tiptoe" through.

 

[jmbgeg]

Latest info I found was Amtrak is not taking reservations for travel north of Memphis until May 21. Also, the CONO is still running Mphs to Nola but don't forget the southern part of the Mississippi River has tributaries backing up and causing flooding; we'll have to keep our fingers crossed. A year or two ago there was a lot of flooding in the Yazoo City area that we had to "tiptoe" through.

Anyone have any idea how much at risk the Crescent's approach to NOL from the east and the Sunset Limited's approach from the west are if localized flooding occurs?

 

[TacoMan]

The Crescent from the look of the Routes should not be greatly affected. They are only predicting moderate flooding in New Orleans through next week. They also will probably open more flood gates on the lake to keep the water from actually pouring into New Orleans like it did Memphis.

 

[Grandpa D]

The SL might be effected if they open the Morganza Spillway NW of Baton Rouge. The water will flow down the Atchafalya flowage and impact Morgan City in a few days. Besides water, Morgan City has flood gates on it's levies which, if closed, would block rail traffic.

They've already opened the Bonne Carre spillway which the CONO crosses right along Lake Ponchetrain. But that's probably of no concern as the CONO isn't running now.

 

[dlagrua]

The SL might be effected if they open the Morganza Spillway NW of Baton Rouge. The water will flow down the Atchafalya flowage and impact Morgan City in a few days. Besides water, Morgan City has flood gates on it's levies which, if closed, would block rail traffic.

They've already opened the Bonne Carre spillway which the CONO crosses right along Lake Ponchetrain. But that's probably of no concern as the CONO isn't running now.

The spillway is in fact diverting Mississippi river flood waters into lake Ponchartrain. This has the potential to affect the Crescent.

 

[TacoMan]

The SL might be effected if they open the Morganza Spillway NW of Baton Rouge. The water will flow down the Atchafalya flowage and impact Morgan City in a few days. Besides water, Morgan City has flood gates on it's levies which, if closed, would block rail traffic.

They've already opened the Bonne Carre spillway which the CONO crosses right along Lake Ponchetrain. But that's probably of no concern as the CONO isn't running now.

The spillway is in fact diverting Mississippi river flood waters into lake Ponchartrain. This has the potential to affect the Crescent.

From what I am reading the Army Corp has already received permission to open the Morganza Spillway to keep Lake Ponchetrain from severe flooding. That is not good news for Morgan City and other areas, but one article said it should help keep traffic moving across the lake.

 

[JHarb]

It is extremely frustrating that Amtrak is completely ignoring the situation on their website, posting no information. Passengers should be alerted to the possibility/probability that their travel plans will have to change. When not told until the last minute, airfare is much higher.