I'm not convinced by your explanation. If you have a 100-car train moving on a rail line line, I can't conceive that you would be unable to be informed of its status. I'm sorry but, if anything happens, you should be informed immediately in order to be able to advise your client. I think that is essential. That's what good service means.
If a train breaks down, of course, the first thing to do is to start repairs. However, the very next thing should be to advise your client that there will be a delay because the locomotive broke down. I think that would be the first thing I would do if I were the carrier. I would try to communicate with my client to let him know that I would be late because of a breakdown. I would tell him not to keep his staff on standby since the train would be a day or two late and that I will call him as soon as I'm able to give him a firm arrival date. That would be logical, I believe.