The primary issues we face are downed trees and water-related erosion issues, such as washouts and flooding.
One major way we combat these risks ahead of time is by allocating a significant percentage of capital funds each year to infrastructure projects which help boost the railroad’s ability to withstand these events. These types of projects include large tree removals, brush cutting, major ditching, culvert upgrades, and bridge replacements.
Another common issue we deal with is power and internet outages, which are common here during bad weather. We have developed processes that allow us to perform a huge chunk of our business remotely when bad weather knocks out these utilities at our primary facilities.