By Railfan & Railroad Staff

HOUSTON — The deep freeze and winter weather that crippled much of the nation this week is starting to lose its grip on Class I railroads from coast-to-coast. 

Earlier this week, railroads like Union Pacific and CSX were closing intermodal terminals and other facilities as extreme winter weather crept into parts of the country that are not normally exposed to it. The weather has been particularly bad in places like Texas, with millions losing power and at least 34 deaths attributed to the storm. 

UP announced that it was reopening all of its intermodal terminals on Friday after closing them earlier in the week. In the south, particularly in Arkansas and Texas, UP was having trouble moving crews around because of adverse road conditions. 

“We are making progress with our recovery efforts as the weather improves,” the railroad told customers. “Our network from the Pacific Northwest through the Midwest is recovering and we are working to resume normal operations in these areas.”

Norfolk Southern was warning customers to expect shipment delays of up to 48 hours. BNSF Railway was holding trains in parts of Texas for the same reason: an inability to move crews around due to road closures. While winter weather was finally leaving much of the country, it was still impacting the Northwest, where BNSF was dispatching its “Snow Coaches” to move crews over Marias Pass, Mont. 

As the cold the gripped Texas moved east, Amtrak decided to adjust operations in the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday. A modified schedule was being operated between New York and Washington D.C. and train 90, the Palmetto from Savannah to New York, was canceled.