CSX, short lines in recovery mode after Hurricane Milton

This story originally appeared on Trains.com.

TAMPA, Fla. — Freight railroads from the Gulf Coast to Miami are still assessing damage and making repairs after Milton made landfall near St. Petersburg late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane.
According to CSX’s most recent customer advisory, all routes north of Jacksonville are open with no anticipated issues, as is the railroad’s mainline to Callahan and south to near Anthony on the railroad’s Wildwood Subdivision.
Washout repairs are still ongoing in central Florida on the railroad’s Carters Subdivision between Lakeland and Auburndale, as well as its Vitis Subdivision between Lakeland and Vitis Junction, near Richland.
CSX anticipates the 49-mile Central Florida Commuter Rail line, operated by Orlando’s SunRail and accessed by CSX via trackage rights, will reopen Friday night, providing a route into Winter Haven.
CSX has contingency plans in place for potential service issues caused by a gas pipe washout in the Miami region.
Florida East Coast Railway says its officials have thoroughly inspected the full length of the railroad and are making necessary repairs along Florida’s Atlantic coast. FEC’s intermodal terminals have reopened and are accepting incoming and outgoing traffic. Through freight and local carload service is still annulled until all repairs are completed, according to a customer update on Friday.
Short-line railroads in the area continue to inspect track and assess damage.
Regional Rail, which operates four short-line railroads across central Florida, spent much of Thursday inspecting track and assessing damage, and the Seminole Gulf Railway in Sarasota is conducting a final inspection Friday, with more information expected Monday.