Minot Depot

[richardd]

Anyone have any word of when Minot will again be a station stop for passengers on the Empire Builder.

 

[fairviewroad]

Amtrak.com lets you book tickets departing Minot starting on September 2.

Obviously that's subject to change...they could get it ready to go sooner than that...or it could take longer.

September 2 is probably a ballpark guess, but it does give some indication.

 

[Tumbleweed]

So, I wonder what happens if you buy a ticket leaving Minot on 9/2 and it is not open yet?

 

[NY Penn]

So, I wonder what happens if you buy a ticket leaving Minot on 9/2 and it is not open yet?

It IS a crew change point, so chances are near 100% that you will be let on. Having a nice place to wait is another story.

 

[fairviewroad]

So, I wonder what happens if you buy a ticket leaving Minot on 9/2 and it is not open yet?

It IS a crew change point, so chances are near 100% that you will be let on. Having a nice place to wait is another story.

Yeah, the Amtrak status maps have indicated that trains 7/8 have been making the usual stops in Minot,

generally for roughly the same duration of time as indicated in the schedule (though nearly always late, of course).

It's too bad Amtrak can't allow people to buy tickets to/from Minot even utilizing a temporary shelter. It's not like it's

the middle of winter and people would need an indoor waiting area. Just get a tent, a few benches and a port-a-potty!

(I know, probably the parking lot is full of equipment and mud right now)

I wonder if pax have been let out to walk around like they typically are, or is it a "stay on the train" kind of place

these days?

 

[jb64]

So, I wonder what happens if you buy a ticket leaving Minot on 9/2 and it is not open yet?

It IS a crew change point, so chances are near 100% that you will be let on. Having a nice place to wait is another story.

Yeah, the Amtrak status maps have indicated that trains 7/8 have been making the usual stops in Minot,

generally for roughly the same duration of time as indicated in the schedule (though nearly always late, of course).

It's too bad Amtrak can't allow people to buy tickets to/from Minot even utilizing a temporary shelter. It's not like it's

the middle of winter and people would need an indoor waiting area. Just get a tent, a few benches and a port-a-potty!

(I know, probably the parking lot is full of equipment and mud right now)

I wonder if pax have been let out to walk around like they typically are, or is it a "stay on the train" kind of place

these days?

My experience on 7/24 was that it was a stay on the train place. They wouldn't let anyone off, even though we were there for over two hours because our crew "died" and a new crew had to be flown in.

 

[Trogdor]

I'm told that the platform itself was wrecked pretty badly in all the floods, so it's not just the station building. It's probably not safe to have a bunch of passengers walking/running around on the platform.

 

[Ispolkom]

Mrs. Ispolkom just got a call from Amtrak, letting us know that the reopening of the Minot station is delayed until at least October, though the person from Amtrak said November might be more realistic. No service until then.

 

[yarrow]

Mrs. Ispolkom just got a call from Amtrak, letting us know that the reopening of the Minot station is delayed until at least October, though the person from Amtrak said November might be more realistic. No service until then.

wow. nice of amtrak to call anyway. hard to understand why a main stop like minot can't be restored sooner at least with a temporary platform, parking and such

 

[Ispolkom]

Yeah, but I haven't seen what condition the station and platform are in, and it must be hard to line up a construction crew when the whole city is tearing down and rebuilding. My sister is coming with us to New Orleans, so now I guess she'll drive an hour east to Rugby to catch the Empire Builder. I imagine that parking is easy to find there.

 

[anir dendroica]

I've been through Minot twice on the EB since the flood. The platform is paved and is slightly flood-damaged but not (in my opinion) dangerous or something that couldn't be fixed in a day with a construction crew. The station looks fine on the outside, but that doesn't mean much. I'm assuming they haven't set up a temporary station because Minot is a busy stop that would be difficult to serve without agents and quik-traks, and that they aren't letting folks off the train because inevitably some passengers would try to walk away or board the train amidst the chaos.

Mark

 

[Ispolkom]

A local article on the Minot Depot is here, complete with a picture of the damaged platform. I can see why Amtrak wouldn't want passengers using that platform, just out of liability concerns. Is it really worse than other stops, though? Essex, Montana before the new platform comes to mind immediately. Didn't you pretty much climb down onto the ballast there?