Francine Expected to Make Landfall in Louisiana as a Hurricane - Temporary Permit Embargo Issued

BNSF is preparing for a hurricane expected to impact portions of the Gulf Coast. Storm watches and tropical storm warnings are in effect for the Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, with heavy rains, coastal flooding and gusty winds expected. Tropical Storm Francine, currently located off northeastern Mexico and Southern Texas is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane later today. As it continues moving northeast through the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center estimates that Francine will land in Southern Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon.

Interchanging traffic in the region is expected to stop this evening while monitoring of levees and flood gates will continue through the duration of the storm. Due to the flooding concerns, BNSF has issued a temporary permit embargo affecting all traffic originating or destined to move through the area. Customers can submit permit requests and obtain more information through this online form. Embargoes are temporary holds placed on freight to restrict the acceptance and handling of freight. You can search embargoes at the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Embargo Railinc website (enter "BNSF" in the Issuing Road field to view active embargoes).

We have also activated an around-the-clock command center, and our operating teams are in communication with other rail carriers as well as local, state and federal emergency personnel. Additional resources have been staged at various locations to quickly address any impacts to the network. Customers with shipments scheduled to move into the region should expect delays throughout the duration of this hurricane event.

If you have questions regarding a shipment(s), please utilize the Message Us feature on the BNSF Customer Portal (must be registered/logged in to access) or contact BNSF Customer Support at 1-888-428-2673.

As always, we appreciate your business and will continue to provide customers with further updates.