BLOG NUMBER 31.12
Railroads do not get to shut down when the snow starts falling. Freight has to keep moving, switches have to keep working, and crews have to keep walking yards safely, no matter what the forecast looks like. In my experience, railroad snow removal is one of the most demanding winter operations I encounter, because the stakes go well beyond a slippery sidewalk. A frozen switch or an ice covered walkway in a rail yard can shut down a whole line or put a worker at serious risk.
I spent over 20 years running Snowmen, Inc., where my crews managed more than 20,000 acres of pavement and 40 million square feet of sidewalks for commercial clients, including facilities that supported industrial and transportation operations. That hands on background, combined with my work today as a Certified Snow Professional (CSP), is why property managers and operations teams in the rail industry often ask me how their winter response compares to what a well run operation should look like. This article walks through what makes railroad winter operations unique, the biggest challenges I see, and what I recommend when I am brought in to review a rail facility’s snow and ice plan.
Why Railroads Present Unique Winter Risk
Most commercial properties I have worked with can afford to close a parking lot or delay opening a storefront during a heavy storm. A rail yard does not have that luxury. Trains are scheduled around the clock, and a delay in one yard can ripple across an entire regional network. That makes railroad snow removal fundamentally different from clearing a retail lot or an office campus.
The physical footprint is different too. A rail yard combines long stretches of track, switches, ballast, walkways, loading platforms, and equipment storage areas, often spread across dozens or hundreds of acres. Snow and ice do not just create a slip hazard on a sidewalk here. Ice buildup on switches can prevent them from throwing correctly. Snow packed into ballast can interfere with drainage. Crews walking the yard to inspect couplings, air brakes, and signals are exposed to the same icy conditions as anyone else, but they are doing safety critical work while they do it.
Common Winter Operational Challenges
In my experience, a few challenges come up again and again when I talk with rail facility managers about railroad snow removal and winter readiness.
Switch and signal icing. Switches are mechanical, and ice or packed snow can keep them from moving freely. Many yards use switch heaters, but heaters only work if they are maintained, tested before the season starts, and backed up by a plan for manual clearing when a heater fails or a storm outpaces it.
Walkway and platform safety for crews. Railroad employees walk uneven, often poorly lit surfaces year round, and winter adds ice on top of that. A consistent de-icing and inspection schedule for walkways, platforms, and stair access points matters as much here as it does on any commercial property I have consulted on.
Equipment and material staging. Plows, spreaders, loaders, and de-icing material all need a place to live, and that staging area has to be accessible even during an active storm. I frequently see facilities that have good equipment but a poor staging plan, which slows response time exactly when speed matters most.
Drainage and refreeze cycles. Kansas City and much of the Midwest see roughly three times more icing events than pure snow events in a typical winter. That means refreezing is often a bigger practical hazard for rail yards than the snowfall itself. Meltwater that pools near track beds or walkways during the day can refreeze into black ice overnight, creating a hazard that is easy to miss during a quick visual check.
Best Practices That Apply to Rail Facilities
When I review a rail yard’s winter plan, effective railroad snow removal comes down to many of the same fundamentals I would want on any large commercial or industrial property, adapted to the specific layout and operational tempo of a railroad.
A written winter response plan should identify priority zones, starting with active track areas, switches, and crew walkways, before moving to lower priority storage or overflow areas. I also recommend a clear escalation trigger, meaning a defined snowfall amount or ice accumulation level that automatically calls crews in, rather than leaving that decision to be made informally once a storm has already started.
Documentation matters more in a rail environment than almost anywhere else I consult. Logging when crews were dispatched, what areas were treated, and what conditions were observed gives an operation a clear record of its response and helps identify gaps before the next storm rather than after one. I always recommend that any property with round the clock operations, not just railroads, keep this kind of consistent log as a matter of standard practice.
Coordination between the snow removal team and rail operations staff is also essential. A crew clearing a switch needs to know if a train is expected through that section, and operations staff need a reliable way to confirm a section has been cleared and inspected before routing traffic through it. This kind of close coordination is one of the details that generic winter maintenance advice often misses, and it is a big part of what I look at when someone asks me to review a snow removal contract for a rail or industrial facility.
When to Bring in a Consultant
Property managers and operations leaders often reach out to me once they realize their existing winter plan was built for a much smaller or simpler property than what they are actually managing. If your rail facility has grown, added new track or storage areas, or changed contractors recently, that is usually a good time for an outside review.
I also hear from facilities after a near miss, a switch failure during a storm, or a worker injury on an icy walkway. In those situations, I look at the existing plan, the equipment on hand, the staffing model, and how well the plan matches the realities of the property, then recommend specific changes. Because I spent two decades actually running snow and ice operations before I started consulting, I evaluate these plans the way an operator would, not just from a checklist.
Understanding what black ice is and how to remove it is a good starting point for any facility manager who wants to get ahead of the refreeze problem I described above, and it is one of the topics I cover when I work directly with a client’s team.
Conclusion
Railroad snow removal is not a smaller version of commercial snow removal. It involves a different footprint, different equipment needs, and a much higher cost when something goes wrong, whether that is a delayed train or an injured crew member. After 20 years running one of the larger snow and ice management operations in the Kansas City area, and more than a decade working with property managers and operations teams to review and improve their winter plans, I have seen what separates a rail facility that handles winter well from one that is constantly reacting to it.
If you manage a rail yard, industrial site, or any property with round the clock operations and you want a second set of eyes on your winter plan, I would be glad to talk through your specific setup. You can learn more about my background on my credentials page or reach out directly through my contact page to start that conversation. My consulting services are built around exactly this kind of operational review, drawing on field experience the Snow & Ice Management Association has helped standardize across the industry since I became a member in 2006.
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