Union Pacific says that some of its customers may experience delays after a derailment and fire on the Salt River Union Pacific Bridge over Tempe Town Lake, but those delays should be minimal.
The company rerouted shipments immediately after the derailment and said delays of 72 hours or longer were possible. Kimberly Owens, of PCI Reload, a company that stores and processes freight, said they have been able to track their shipments online.
“They’re not getting to us as quickly as they might have, if this hadn’t happened, but the U.P., which I think has been in business for over 150 years, has seen a lot of derailments, and so they seem to be really good at fixing their line, and having contingency plans,” Owens said.
The company has not given a timetable for the repair but is moving quickly to rebuild the bridge.
“So, really, like within the month, we expect that most of this will be behind us, and we won’t be experiencing any delays in any traffic to our facility,” Owens said.
Union Pacific has cleared away most debris from the derailment. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
