Update
May 31, 2011, 4:07 p.m. Amtrak now scheduled to arrive 6:40 p.m. tonight in Williston; fueling depot was unable to refuel the train in Minot; will refuel in Williston, which means the wait in Williston might be a bit longer than usual.
May 31, 2011: The Amtrak train is completing its run from Chicago to Williston to Portland, Oregon, today. This will be the last run until Saturday as it stands now. But the train is running today as usual (though a few hours late coming into Williston).
Original Post
Amtrak has started canceling service across North Dakota (and Montana/Idaho?) due to flooding.
I don't know the particulars. We all knew that Amtrak was going to start avoiding Devils Lake but that was something different than what appears to be going on now. We know that coming from the west last week, Amtrak almost couldn't get into Williston due to the flooding.
I'm not sure exactly when the cancellations start, but my sister was just notified that her Wednesday reservation has been canceled and she will leave three days later, Saturday.
Apparently the Empire Builder will be going back and forth between Chicago and Minneapolis, and on the west coast only between Portland/Seattle and Spokane. For now it appears that the interruption in service is temporary and very short-lived. [I may be too optimistic. See first comment below which is quite helpful.]
1-800-872-7245 for "Ask Julie" at Amtrak.
It is confusing. Maybe travel is only affected some days. It is all contingent upon BNI (Burlington Northern) when they will make the track available.
I wouldn't assume it's short-lived. My husband and I had tickets for Thursday morning out of Fargo to Portland, and were notified this morning that service was suspended. As the agent and I checked forward to see if a later schedule would still get us there in time for the graduation we were scheduled to attend on Sunday, she said that Thursday, Friday and Saturday service was all blacked out and unavailable. If you do some looking at the flood conditions throughout all of Montana, it becomes apparent that the degree to which railbeds are potentially compromised is a huge factor. All over the state. This is not a time for "well, let's just make it happen." This is a pervasive and damaging condition across the entire state. I-90 through Missoula, etc. is completely impassable in widely separated areas. Once the water levels stabilize, they aren't going to turn things loose again until they've had a chance to evaluate the safety issues.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update. I will note that in the body of the post above. This is all very, very helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment.
My father and sister are on the last train to Williston from Chicago. So far we are in contact with them. They have told us nothing but horror stories of there journey.They are more than a few hours late. Try a day and a half. With no returning trains till possibly Saturday. They were suppose to be home by Friday.Now they are unsure of being home by Tuesday or Wednesday. The issues of the rising water levels should of been checked before they let this train out of Chicago !! Bad Amtrak
ReplyDeleteWhat day did they depart Chicago?
ReplyDelete