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Christine

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We're taking a family trip from Havre, MT to Chicago on Sat. June 4. Anyone hear if Amtrak is busing people around flooding in ND? For now the Empire Builder is stopped between St. Paul and Spokane, but Amtrak says everything is OK, trains will run on Sat. BUT! I REALLY don't want to go if we have to put the kids (2 and 5 years old) on a Greyhound for 8 or more hours (torture). I had to take a bus between Minneapolis and Chicago in 2001 (because of flooding in Wisc.)and that was no fun, so I'm hoping to avoid it this time and reschedule.
 
This year Amtrak has been choosing to cancel trains rather than provide bus bridges. So I would assume that if you get on a train you will stay on a train. That said I haven't heard a firm date as to when service will resume, although tentatively it is scheduled for Saturday. Keep in mind that if the first departure from Seattle is on Saturday it wont arrive in Havre until Sun. June 5.

The winds on Devils Lake have calmed down, but the Souris River is causing severe flooding in Minot which may affect the Empire Builder route. The water should crest in the next 24-48 hours, so it will likely be OK by Saturday if there are no washouts or bridge damage.

Mark
 
anir dendroica said:
This year Amtrak has been choosing to cancel trains rather than provide bus bridges. So I would assume that if you get on a train you will stay on a train. That said I haven't heard a firm date as to when service will resume, although tentatively it is scheduled for Saturday. Keep in mind that if the first departure from Seattle is on Saturday it wont arrive in Havre until Sun. June 5.

The winds on Devils Lake have calmed down, but the Souris River is causing severe flooding in Minot which may affect the Empire Builder route. The water should crest in the next 24-48 hours, so it will likely be OK by Saturday if there are no washouts or bridge damage.

Mark
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I spoke with Amtrak about an hour ago and was told that the Builder is cancelled through 6/7. :angry2:
 
Christine said:
We're taking a family trip from Havre, MT to Chicago on Sat. June 4. Anyone hear if Amtrak is busing people around flooding in ND? For now the Empire Builder is stopped between St. Paul and Spokane, but Amtrak says everything is OK, trains will run on Sat. BUT! I REALLY don't want to go if we have to put the kids (2 and 5 years old) on a Greyhound for 8 or more hours (torture). I had to take a bus between Minneapolis and Chicago in 2001 (because of flooding in Wisc.)and that was no fun, so I'm hoping to avoid it this time and reschedule.
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http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/01/flooding-halts-amtrak-between-spokane-st-paul/
 
fairviewroad said:
anir dendroica said:
This year Amtrak has been choosing to cancel trains rather than provide bus bridges.
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Not in every case. Two relatives of mine were bussed between Havre and Whitefish in March

due to a freight derailment.
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I'm assuming that the train was en route when the derailment happened, in which case the only options were buses or returning to the point of origin. I still think it's unlikely that Amtrak will restart service with a planned bustitution in ND.

Mark
 
I'm wondering why trains #8 or #28 are only going as far as SPK and not further into Glacier Park tourist area (WHF, WGP, ESM, or GPK)? How far east into Montana would the trains have to go before they could be turned (assuming they're not going to go all the way to MOT)? Also wondering if anybody has any ideas how to go ONE-WAY from SPK (assuming we get that far) to the Kallispell airport where we are suppose to depart.
 
As far as I can tell, Amtrak will only service and turn trainsets in Seattle, Portland, Spokane, St. Paul, and Chicago. They will turn trains in other places in emergencies, but they won't plan on it.

All in all, I'd say Amtrak, like many government organizations, has a limited amount of operational flexibility and a limited desire to go the extra mile (travel costs, overtime pay, buses) to keep the customer satisfied. I can understand cancellation when blizzards shut down a whole state or region. But cancelling service across 1000 miles of track when less than 200 miles are affected, roads are open, and demand is high strikes me as a poor decision.

Mark

N.T. said:
I'm wondering why trains #8 or #28 are only going as far as SPK and not further into Glacier Park tourist area (WHF, WGP, ESM, or GPK)? How far east into Montana would the trains have to go before they could be turned (assuming they're not going to go all the way to MOT)? Also wondering if anybody has any ideas how to go ONE-WAY from SPK (assuming we get that far) to the Kallispell airport where we are suppose to depart.
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N.T. said:
How far east into Montana would the trains have to go before they could be turned (assuming they're not going to go all the way to MOT)?
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Theoretically, an eastbound train could go all the way to Stanley, ND and turn around there.
 
Well.....I just got over being stressed over the CONO flooding....and now the EB is having problems :blink:

We are supposed to board the EB Chicago to Seattle on June 10th. There are 5 of us including a 3 1/2 year old. I am really hoping we won't have to drive.

I will keep checking back for updates....
 
Currently from what I see on the Amtrak status maps is only the SWC, the Eagle and the Sunset are running consistently. Everything north of that is a mess.
 
Empire Builder Cancellation: I just saw a news item that there is now flooding in Minot and the train is cancelled through Sunday. Stub train Chgo to Minneapolis, bus from Spokane to Portland and Seattle.
 
Amtrak George said:
Empire Builder Cancellation: I just saw a news item that there is now flooding in Minot and the train is cancelled through Sunday. Stub train Chgo to Minneapolis, bus from Spokane to Portland and Seattle.
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Thank you for the information! Where (besides here) can I find the latest infomation. We are scheduled to leave Chi to Sea on June 10. I am worried that Amtrak will cancel day by day and at the last minute like they did on the CONO. We have had this trip planned for 6 months. Our back-up plan is to drive the 35 hours to Seattle.
 
Kaki said:
Thank you for the information! Where (besides here) can I find the latest infomation. We are scheduled to leave Chi to Sea on June 10. I am worried that Amtrak will cancel day by day and at the last minute like they did on the CONO. We have had this trip planned for 6 months. Our back-up plan is to drive the 35 hours to Seattle.
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I had tickets for the EB on Sat June 4th, and was informed today that it's cancelled -- three days ahead of time.
 
BUILDER CANCELLATION; If you do a Google news search for 'Amtrak Empire Builder' or 'Empire Builder Minot' you will find various current news articles. It doesn't look good with problems at Minot as well as the Devil's Lake stuff. Pray for dry (and non windy) weather!
 
Amtrak George said:
BUILDER CANCELLATION; If you do a Google news search for 'Amtrak Empire Builder' or 'Empire Builder Minot' you will find various current news articles. It doesn't look good with problems at Minot as well as the Devil's Lake stuff. Pray for dry (and non windy) weather!
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Thank you!!!
 
I'm scheduled to be on 8(28) SEA-CHI, and this is starting to make me nervous...

(Edited because 8/28 looked more like "Eastbound Empire Builder + Portland section" rather than the intended "Eastbound Empire Builder departing 28 June.")
 
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I'd say that you have nothing to worry about, but I was sure that I had nothing to worry about on 7(30), and boy, was I wrong. This is a uniquely bad year for the Empire Builder. At this point I'm wondering how they are going to handle the plagues of locusts and frogs that seem likely to be the next disaster to hit the Hi Line.
 
Ok, I know that Amtrak has cancelled EB through June 6th.....our reservation is June 10th Chicago to Seattle. What do you think the chances are that the train will be running by then?

AND...if we DO make the June 10th trip...we will have to worry about being stuck in Seattle for our return trip on June 23 and the posibility of renting a car for the return trip.

We are already mapping out the route for the road trip.....still hoping to be able to take the train.
 
Kaki said:
Ok, I know that Amtrak has cancelled EB through June 6th.....our reservation is June 10th Chicago to Seattle. What do you think the chances are that the train will be running by then?

AND...if we DO make the June 10th trip...we will have to worry about being stuck in Seattle for our return trip on June 23 and the posibility of renting a car for the return trip.

We are already mapping out the route for the road trip.....still hoping to be able to take the train.
Click to expand...
One option to solve the nerves problem, maybe to change your return to SEA-SAC-CHI (CS-CZ)!
 
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