Norfolk Southern Restores Rail Service to New Orleans

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orfolk Southern Corp. said Tuesday it has completed repairs to its Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, restoring rail freight service into New Orleans and reopening important interchange points with western rail carriers.

Nearly five miles of track were washed from the top of the 5.8-mile long rail bridge and into the lake. Nine cranes on barges were used to lift the track out of the water and back onto the bridge, the eastern freight railroad said in a statement.

The nine miles of track running through New Orleans itself required major repairs due to washouts and other water-related problems.

While repairs were being completed, freight that regularly traveled through New Orleans for connection to other carriers was rerouted through the railroad's other gateways.

Meanwhile, CSX Corp., which also operates in the east, said it was prepaying about $600,000 in property taxes to Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties in Mississippi to assist with urgent cash needs related to the hurricane cleanup.

The rail line also pledged to do the same in affected Louisiana and Alabama counties where it has operations.

“The CSX tax prepayment represents a model of cooperation that other able companies can follow. With the public and private sectors working together, we will rebuild from this crisis," Wayne Brown, southern district commissioner for the Mississippi Department of Transportation said in a statement.