UP spokesman Mark Davis told the Associated Press that its line from Grand Junction to Denver was out of service about 50km from the capital city, meaning the heavy train traffic that normally made its way through northern Colorado must go through Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah.

That alternate route, he said, was a main line that took the average eight trains daily through Cheyenne, an artery of the Powder River Basin region. That area was unharmed by the high water and rains that have made ghost towns of several areas near Boulder, Colorado.

However, that change in logistics, as expected, is costing time and money.

“That's about a 600-mile detour,” Davis told the news service.

“It takes about an additional 72 hours to move that traffic.”

He also noted that, while a majority of the worst damage was in Colorado, UP was making a preparation plan for southwest Nebraska, which as of late Wednesday had not yet crested from the resulting rush of water from upriver Colorado via the South Platte River.

Local officials, Davis said, were concerned about possible damage to the rail line if and when those water levels rose.

The AP also said that the rains and resulting flooding also had an impact on Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s coal traffic.

In fact, BNSF spokesman Matt Jones told the wire that it was forced to reroute two of its lines between Wyoming and Colorado to the east through Nebraska.

Both also travel through Cheyenne.

“The disruptions are in Colorado, not in Wyoming, but it is disrupting some of the traffic in Wyoming,” he said.

“We're working around the clock to restore service, but in some of these places we're waiting for the water to recede.”