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At this point if I were traveling through from Chicago to Seattle/Portland or vice versa I would opt to take the CZ to SAC and then CS up to SEA/PDX instead of the EB.
 
The entire EB portion of the map is amazing--All of the EBs are very late, with #8 in eastern MN now almost 20 hours behind. I think everyone needs to be reminded that with the exception of the 20 hour late train, the rest are 4-6 hours late due basically to the freight traffic issues. The weather on the Hi-Line now is about as good as it gets for early March (40-50 degrees in much of MT yesterday), and will turn even milder much of this week.

One of my BNSF folks here in MT said the avalanches and derailment took the media focus off the continued "absolute mess" as it relates to waaaaaay too much traffic on this BNSF segment and again reiterated that there are no quick fixes in the cards.
 
i rather like this picture of the Essex Slide from

glacierslide3-7-14_zps80e741a7.png


from the Flathead Beacon
 
Tumbleweed said:
Another breaking news article :mellow: .... http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/428748/
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What wasn't stated in the article is that this is part of a THREE year process which just barely started last year. My BNSF contacts also say large daily bottlenecks are also building in western MT between Whitefish and Libby and in Central MT as well. These areas are just "on the drawing board" for capital expenditures beginning in 2015 and beyond. This is going to be a long process. The arrival of the 5000 new (higher safety standard) tanker cars beginning in late Spring and running thru mid-summer, should also add to the delays as well according to my sources. They stated BNSF will be barely able to keep up with the increased demand to move crude oil even with these new assets!!
 
NorthCoastHiawatha said:
At this point if I were traveling through from Chicago to Seattle/Portland or vice versa I would opt to take the CZ to SAC and then CS up to SEA/PDX instead of the EB.
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Yep, that's what I'd do too. It's still slower -- it's 3 1/2 days. But it's not that much slower than the worst-case scenario on the Empire Builder -- with a 20+ hour delay, the Empire Builder is now taking roughly 3 days. And the Empire Builder currently has two bus bridges (!) if I'm not mistaken so it would be a more pleasant trip.

I guess the trains are being run empty through the prohibited zones, which seems unwise (don't want to lose rolling stock -- or worse, engineers and conductors -- to a mudslide or an avalanche). But I can't imagine what procedures would be used otherwise, as Amtrak can't very well run trains from Everett to Whitefish with no facilities at either end.
 
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Avalanches must be part of the history of the route back to when the first track was laid. It is sort of piling on with all the other EB problems, but it should always have figured into people's expectations when going through a mountain range. I'll just bet every train line that runs through mountains in the world has avalanche problems. I have a friend in Switzerland, and I emailed her, and she said "oh yes, we have them too". Can't see how any line anywhere can have as good a punctuality record as one running through flatlands.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Swiss_train_derails_due_to_avalanche_rail_operator_999.html
 
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A friend who got into MPLS this morning on the eastbound EB 6 hours 33 minutes late said that the passengers were bused between Whitefish and Shelby while the train went on empty through the avalanche zone at Glacier Park. The worst part, she said, was that all the lunches were put on the first of the four buses that transported the passengers, and the bus did not stop to redistribute the lunches among the other three. Result was that when the train got to Shelby in midafternoon, three-quarters of the passengers were hungry and super unhappy.

Yup, the EB is an adventure . . .
 
Henry Kisor said:
A friend who got into MPLS this morning on the eastbound EB 6 hours 33 minutes late said that the passengers were bused between Whitefish and Shelby while the train went on empty through the avalanche zone at Glacier Park. The worst part, she said, was that all the lunches were put on the first of the four buses that transported the passengers, and the bus did not stop to redistribute the lunches among the other three. Result was that when the train got to Shelby in midafternoon, three-quarters of the passengers were hungry and super unhappy.

Yup, the EB is an adventure . . .
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A friend from Minnesota says :

We drove on US10 from Anoka to Motley yesterday, paralleling the BNSF main line through Minnesota. We saw eight or nine stopped trains (I lost count) and exactly one moving train. A crew was arriving at one of the stopped trains just west of Little Falls as we passed by. No wonder the Builder has a hard time getting through.
 
This is really a disaster. BNSF is going to take years to dig itself out of this hole.

At this point I think Amtrak is better off suspending everything from St. Paul to Spokane until BNSF can clear a path. There's too much ill-will being generated by this. If St. Paul to Chicago and Spokane to Portland could run approximately on time, it would probably be better overall for Amtrak even with the missing service.

On another note, I see the January 2014 monthly performance report is out... will read now... expecting horrible results for the EB...
 
neroden said:
This is really a disaster. BNSF is going to take years to dig itself out of this hole.

At this point I think Amtrak is better off suspending everything from St. Paul to Spokane until BNSF can clear a path. There's too much ill-will being generated by this. If St. Paul to Chicago and Spokane to Portland could run approximately on time, it would probably be better overall for Amtrak even with the missing service.

On another note, I see the January 2014 monthly performance report is out... will read now... expecting horrible results for the EB...
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That's a slippery slope, could end up with another Sunset east situation.
 
RyanS said:
20 extra hours on the train? I'd enjoy that, as long as I didn't have anything pressing on the other end of it.
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Same here. I'm happy as long as we're moving (and I don't HAVE to be somewhere). I do get annoyed when we're just sitting still, but I'm that way in any mode of transportation. ;)
 
I am booked on the EB this summer,,,, and if I am 20 hours late I won't mutter a word,,,,, probably have to cancel a hotel in East Glacier,,, but not a prob.. but i don't think it will be an avalanche in August,,,,,,
 
My problem wouldn't be the 20+ hours - it's the not knowing whether it's going to be 5 hours, 15 hours, 25 hours, or 35 hours...

It's like being on an episode of "Amazing Race" - you're going to be dropped off in a city at a random time of day (or night), and you have no idea whether you'll have any further transportation available, or whether you'll need a hotel, and if so for how long, or where you're going to go and what you're going to eat, etc.
 
RyanS said:
20 extra hours on the train? I'd enjoy that, as long as I didn't have anything pressing on the other end of it.
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Most passengers aren't riding end-to-end, though. In my case, it'd simply mean I'm getting on in St. Cloud 20 hours late, which frankly would anger me more than anything else.
 
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