New Orleans, LA

September 2009

Railroad Recovery

Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad system. FEMA has obligated more than $16 million to help the agency get back on track.

The railroad has been around 101 years. Last year 2008 was our centennial celebration.

We have 28 miles of mainline trackage that goes from the west side of the Mississippi and Avondale into Gentilly and New Orleans East. Aside from that we have about 150 miles of switching yards and tracks.

During Katrina, the eastern end of our railroad really took the brunt of the hit. The water which came in was on our yard for several weeks. A lot of tracks were twisted, ballast and ties were washed away, including yard offices and few railcars.

We were totally out of commission for approximately 3 weeks. We partially got up after about three weeks, but not fully until 6 months.

Once we got with FEMA, we truly entered into a partnership.

They have worked with us to identify all of the areas that need to be rebuilt. That���s the ties, that���s the rail, that���s the ballast. Now to date, we���ve had all the project worksheets approved, they���ve signed off on them, and now it���s time to go to work and rebuild.

Originally we had wooden ties. Once we worked with FEMA, and explained to them the benefit of putting in steel ties, particularly long-term in a damp environment. They agreed to fund that, which will basically keep that railroad intact and in shape for about 100 years. The crossing signals, the activation gates for the public rail crossings were all underwater for weeks. All of the electronics, the batteries were ruined and FEMA replaced those 100%.

The one thing I really want to get out there is, FEMA initially can be a little intimidating  just because it���s a government agency, it���s a bureaucracy. But the one thing we quickly saw was their willingness to enter into a partnership, to work with us. And they truly made what at first was a questionable or uneasy experience a good experience.