Status Maps Shows Three WA Service Disruptions Tonight

Anything going on with the tracks? I am coming westbound to SEA on the EB overnight. Is 7 at risk?

Yes, 7 is definately at risk.

Another mud slide, so there will be no train service through the Mukilteo area until sometime Saturday. Any time there is a mud slide no passenger service is allowed for 2 days after the slide, without regard to how fast the cleanup takes.

Mukilteo is between Everett and Seattle, just to give you a reference point.

No word on what Amtrak is doing at this point with the Builder.

AlanB said:

Yes, 7 is definately at risk.
Another mud slide, so there will be no train service through the Mukilteo area until sometime Saturday. Any time there is a mud slide no passenger service is allowed for 2 days after the slide, without regard to how fast the cleanup takes.

Mukilteo is between Everett and Seattle, just to give you a reference point.

No word on what Amtrak is doing at this point with the Builder.

Click to expand...

I called the Spokane ticket counter. They say that we are fine until Everett and will then be bussed the rest of the way to Seattle, but still on time.

Any idea how they're turning and stocking the train? Are they using Sounder layover facilities? Trucking items from the Commissary up to Everett?

battalion51 said:

Any idea how they're turning and stocking the train? Are they using Sounder layover facilities? Trucking items from the Commissary up to Everett?

Click to expand...

BNSF issued a 48 hour moratorium on passenger travel between Everett and Seattle.

battalion51 said:

Any idea how they're turning and stocking the train? Are they using Sounder layover facilities? Trucking items from the Commissary up to Everett?

Click to expand...

Hi,

There is a ''natural'' wye in Everett ( Pacific Jct) just the way the roads slit apart there: main line swing east towards the Cascades and Wenatchee, and the Bellingham-Vancouver Bc line goes north, with bi-directionnal connections between thw two ; also a fair size yard there.

Overnight ''sotring''not a problem and you're right about trucking stuff from the commissary...not all that far. Good local hotels for the crew as well.

That stretch where the slide occured is quite prone to such incidents. Price to pay for anotherwise delightfully scenic ride....

Cheers

Claude

The trains weren't wyed in Everett. They deadheaded from Everett to Seattle.

How is that possible if there's a moratorium? Is there another route that could be used, but it just takes a helluva long time?

rmadisonwi said:

The trains weren't wyed in Everett. They deadheaded from Everett to Seattle.

Click to expand...

Impossible....or at least V E R Y unlikely: BNSF closed the line along the Sound between Everett and at least Edmonds if not Interbay Jct

C

The moratorium is on passenger trains, not all trains. If the train has no passengers, it can go through.

rmadisonwi said:

The moratorium is on passenger trains, not all trains. If the train has no passengers, it can go through.

Click to expand...

Exactly! Even though it might sound a bit callous, BNSF doesn't want the headline "200 passengers killed in second mudslide" so they impose a moratorium on passenger trains for 48 hours to make sure that the mountain has stabilized. But as long as the tracks are clear, freight trains are allowed to move through the area at slow speeds since they consider the crews expendable.

By taking the passengers off the train, the Builder ceases to be a "passenger" train under the moratorium's rules and the consist can roll by the slide area.

AlanB said:

rmadisonwi said:

The moratorium is on passenger trains, not all trains. If the train has no passengers, it can go through.

Click to expand...

Exactly! Even though it might sound a bit callous, BNSF doesn't want the headline "200 passengers killed in second mudslide" so they impose a moratorium on passenger trains for 48 hours to make sure that the mountain has stabilized. But as long as the tracks are clear, freight trains are allowed to move through the area at slow speeds since they consider the crews expendable.

By taking the passengers off the train, the Builder ceases to be a "passenger" train under the moratorium's rules and the consist can roll by the slide area.

Click to expand...

I agree. When I detrained in Everett yesterday, someone on the crew talked about her jumping back on to Seattle.

I came into Seattle this morning on #7 with passengers aboard. Currently we are expecting an on-time and hopefully routine departure from Seattle this evening.

In this case, the slide only blocked one of the two tracks. Once things were determined stable, freight trains began to move on the unblocked track. Both tracks were embargoed for passenger service.

I feel really lucky as my boyfriend and I rode the Cascades 516 north from Portland on Wednesday, March 24, the night before this service disruption. That could have made a messed up trip for sure, as we had experienced long delays between Portland and Tacoma due to freight congestion, and had another delay north of Seattle to let the 517 by.

I am glad we missed this! I didn't mind the sitting still and crawling on the way home but my boyfriend wasn't too happy as he was continuing on past Bellingham all the way to Vancouver BC. We had a great time in Portland but a bus ride home wouldn't have been too welcome, so I feel very fortunate.