City of New Orleans Bustitution (ended)

[manchacrr]

I received a call from Amtrak about my reservation next week (March 5) on the City of New Orleans from Hammond, LA, to Chicago. The agent informed me that the train has been cancelled between New Orleans & Jackson, MS, and that I would be on a Thruway Bus from Hammond to Jackson to board my train. The agent also said that the portion of the CONO's route from New Orleans to Jackson was cancelled through March 11 with the bus bridge in effect for both 58 & 59. 

Although she did not give a specific reason for the schedule change, I believe that this is in effect due to the Army Corp of Engineers opening the Bonne Carre Spillway today. The spillway is located just north of New Orleans and, when opened, diverts water from the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. It was opened today to prevent flooding in and around New Orleans as the river is rising fast and is already above flood stage in Louisiana. The CN (IC) main line crosses the Bonne Carre Spillway between New Orleans and Hammond.

 

[fairviewroad]

So, about that bustitution...

Memphis-bound Amtrak passengers evacuate burning bus in Louisiana
 

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. – A chartered bus carrying 51 Amtrak passengers had to be evacuated around 2 p.m. after it caught fire on I-55 about an hour out of New Orleans, Louisiana State Police confirms.

The passengers were originally supposed to take the No. 58 Amtrak train from New Orleans to Memphis, but since some of the railroad in Louisiana is flooded, Amtrak said they put them on a bus to Jackson where they would be able to link up with the train.

 

[Thirdrail7]

It looks like things may have gotten worse. It has been changed to "until further notice:"

https://www.amtrak.com/alert/bus-service-jackson-new-orleans.html

Bus Service between Jackson and New Orleans Due to Flooding


Effective Until Further Notice

Please be advised that CN railway closed the route used by the City of New Orleans due to flooding. Amtrak-chartered buses are being provided between Jackson and New Orleans as substitute transportation for Trains 58 and 59. Normal train service will resume as soon as possible. 

Passengers will be provided bus service in both directions between Jackson, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond and New Orleans. Passengers traveling north from New Orleans are asked to arrive at Union Passenger Terminal by 12:15 to board the buses.

 

[west point]

If these closures are going to happen every year CN may want to make some serious improvements to the alternate route?

 

[Thirdrail7]

If these closures are going to happen every year CN may want to make some serious improvements to the alternate route?

Apparently, this isn't a yearly event. According to this article, it has only opened 13 times in its history:

Bonnet Carre Spillway opening back-to-back years for first time in history

http://www.wafb.com/2019/02/27/bonnet-carre-spillway-opening-back-to-back-years-first-time-history/

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The Bonnet Carre Spillway will be opened Wednesday.



Built after the great 1927 flood, the Bonnet Carre has operated 13 times since 1937. This is the first time in history the spillway has been opened in back-to-back years.



The Army Corps of Engineers says they plan to open 30 bays Wednesday morning out of about 350. The corps say they could open approximately 200 of the bays.



Each bay measures 20 feet in length.

The embedded video states they plan on keeping the spillway open for at least 30 days.

 

[Larry H.]

I live well upstream from New Orleans but on our weather forecast here they are saying many places along the river are going to be the third highest flooding in history.  I can see how CN would want to close the route to passenger service.  That might take place on the Missouri as well effecting the Missouri Mule between Kansas City and St. Louis.  Its been shut down before as the rails run right next to the Missouri River. Great for sightseeing in good weather but not so hot if it is going to flood. 

 

[tricia]

Farther south, throughout the Southeast there's been an epic amount of rain in the past couple of months. Saw lots of very high water and shallowly flooded areas along the Crescent's route through Mississippi and Alabama last week.

 

[GBNorman]

How many times over the years  have my friends in both Nashville and Atlanta commented to me, with all of the Great Lakes to become a "dry gulch", about "the perpetual drought".

On an auto trip returning from Florida last week, it sure looked like where I-24 parallels then X-'s the Tennessee River, "uh, not too much" sign of a drought this year.

Water: "too much or too little" - except me in Chicago (but guess what; "it costs").

 

[jis]

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the other two spillways, and how they are used and interact in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya basins. There is information about typical flow capacities of the flood relief channels, and quite a good description about how Bonnet Carre was built and how it is operated. I found it very informative. It is a PDF document:

https://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/Portals/56/docs/PAO/Brochures/BCspillwaybooklet.pdf

Interestingly, the Morganza Floodway, which feeds the Atchafalaya and has more than double the capacity, has been opened only twice in history so far. The last time was 2011 apparently. Don't know if it was involved last year. 2011 was so bad that they had to open up every available floodway to relieve pressure on New Orleans.

Since the spillway of choice to use first is the Bonnet Carre, CN might wish to strengthen its trestle before it falls down due to scouring at the base of the pillars/stilts on which it rides, given the precipitation projections in the Mississippi-Missouri basins.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Since bustitution on the Cono is indef, why not remove the phrase "(thru March 11)"?

 

[PRR 60]

Since bustitution on the Cono is indef, why not remove the phrase "(thru March 11)"?

Done

 

[PRR 60]

Since the spillway of choice to use first is the Bonnet Carre, CN might wish to strengthen its trestle before it falls down due to scouring at the base of the pillars/stilts on which it rides, given the precipitation projections in the Mississippi-Missouri basins.

 

CN has applies to the COE to do just that.

COE Notice

 

[cpotisch]

I'll be on the CONO on June 25th. This should be sorted out by then, right?

 

[Bob Dylan]

You never know with today's Clumate and Weather! ( I'm no Scientist but I know a huge  problem when I'm living through  what's going on in the World <_< ).

 

[manchacrr]

Since the spillway of choice to use first is the Bonnet Carre, CN might wish to strengthen its trestle before it falls down due to scouring at the base of the pillars/stilts on which it rides, given the precipitation projections in the Mississippi-Missouri basins.

CN has applies to the COE to do just that.

COE Notice

The construction of the new CN bridge has already begun. They have been working on the new bridge for a couple of months now. The new bridge will be all concrete, so it will be much stronger than the old wooden bridge, which was built by the Illinois Central in 1936.

 

[Ryan]

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the other two spillways, and how they are used and interact in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya basins. There is information about typical flow capacities of the flood relief channels, and quite a good description about how Bonnet Carre was built and how it is operated. I found it very informative.

I did as well, thanks for sharing it.

 

[leemell]

So, about that bustitution...

Memphis-bound Amtrak passengers evacuate burning bus in Louisiana

My brother and his wife were on that bus.  They were the last to leave and about 30 seconds after they went out the door, it broke into open flames in that passenger cabin.  Before that it was filled with black acrid smoke from burning plastic.
 

 

[cpotisch]

On 3/2/2019 at 12:44 PM, fairviewroad said:
So, about that bustitution...

Memphis-bound Amtrak passengers evacuate burning bus in Louisiana

My brother and his wife were on that bus.  They were the last to leave and about 30 seconds after they went out the door, it broke into open flames in that passenger cabin.  Before that it was filled with black acrid smoke from burning plastic.

Wow. Are they okay? Did they get their luggage out in time?

 

[leemell]

Yes, they are fine except for some coughing hanging on.  Everything in the passenger cabin was destroyed.  The luggage in the lower storage was OK.

 

[neroden]

With more and more flooding in the NOLA vicinity, I think I have to schedule my trip to New Orleans within the next year or so.

 

[cpotisch]

Any idea at this point as to what the fire actually was?

 

[leemell]

Any idea at this point as to what the fire actually was?

No reports said what it was.

 

[George K]

I just got a call from Amtrak about my trip on 59 next Sunday (3/18).  Bustituion from Jackson to New Orleans still in effect.

Couple of questions:

1) How long of a ride is that?

2) Will the bus be making all the stops that 59 usually does, or is it nonstop?

 

[neroden]

It's about 3 hours.  I don't know whether they make intermediate stops.

 

[jis]

The one time I faced this, they ran enough buses for all through passengers non stop and a separate bus make those stops for which there were reservations that day.