empire builder no 8

[going to the sun sue]

Why is the builder so late coming East....Ithought there was a reroute and it saved time....I am catching it out of Tomah wi on Sat...and if it is so late getting into chicago..it will be a bummer..Thanks

 

[Grandpa D]

The EB has slow going in the area around Devil's Lake, ND and along the Mississippi south of MSP. There still is some flooding. They tried the Surrey/New Rockford cutoff a week or so ago but that was even slower.

 

[cav1865]

Empire Builder loses a minimum of 2 hours through North Dakota because of "slow orders." "Slow orders" means conditions require a train's speed to be less because of track conditions or other conditions affecting train safety. North Dakota still has very high water through central and east-central part of the state. Also the track in eastern North Dakota is very rough on a good day; Empire Builder just can't get any speed through the state. BNSF still owns the track through central and east-central North Dakota but doesn't use the track anymore (BNSF freighters use the Surrey Cutoff) and doesn't maintain the track to a higher standard.

 

[cav1865]

Empire Builder loses a minimum of 2 hours through North Dakota because of "slow orders." "Slow orders" means conditions require a train's speed to be less because of track conditions or other conditions affecting train safety. North Dakota still has very high water through central and east-central part of the state. Also the track in eastern North Dakota is very rough on a good day; Empire Builder just can't get any speed through the state. BNSF still owns the track through central and east-central North Dakota but doesn't use the track anymore (BNSF freighters use the Surrey Cutoff) and doesn't maintain the track to a higher standard.

I double-checked Empire Builder (EB) times, and EB loses about 3 hours now through North Dakota. Probably will stay that way for some time now until the flooding/high water/slow orders abate.