CSX: Rail-Link Service in Baltimore to Be Restored Before Friday

By Scott Calvert 

BALTIMORE--Service should be restored before Friday on a main CSX Corp. rail link that was buried in debris when an embankment collapsed, a company spokesman said.

The section of track--a vital link between the northeast and southeast U.S.--has been out of service since Wednesday afternoon, when the collapse sent debris and several automobiles toppling onto the rail line below.

The freight railroad expects to clear the blockage and restore service before Friday, according to CSX spokesman Gary Sease. "If the work doesn't turn complicated for some reason, we should be able to open it this evening," he said on Thursday.

Between 20 and 25 freight trains a day normally traverse the blocked section of track in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood. Some CSX trains have been rerouted and others held in place while workers cleared debris, Mr. Sease said. Amtrak passenger trains don't use the line.

No one was injured when a portion of 26th Street above the tracks gave way amid a two-day stretch of heavy rainfall.

The blockage has halted rail shipment of containers to and from the Port of Baltimore's Seagirt Marine Terminal. A container-laden train scheduled to leave the port for Chicago on Thursday morning had to be delayed, Maryland Port Authority spokesman Richard Scher said.

The track problem doesn't affect other types of port cargo that don't pass through Seagirt's intermodal facility, including autos, roll on-roll off cargo and forest products.

Port officials are optimistic the rail link can be reopened quickly. "We don't anticipate this being a situation where it's going to carry on for several days," Mr. Scher said.

The incident isn't related to Wednesday's derailment in Lynchburg, Va., which involved a CSX train carrying crude oil.

Write to Scott Calvert at Scott [e-mail]

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