More on Amtrak service interuption..

Amtrak temporarily suspends service at Minot, other N.D. cities
June 22, 2011
By ELOISE OGDEN - Regional Editor (eogden@minotdailynews.com) , Minot Daily News
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Amtrak's "Empire Builder" service is temporarily being suspended between St. Paul, Minn., and Havre, Mont., with no alternate transportation available between those points until further notice, Amtrak officials said.

The disruption of service will affect Minot and other Amtrak stops in North Dakota.

The temporary suspension of service was effective in both directions with the originations of the "Empire Builder" trains Tuesday.

The suspension is being done because of the flooding in and around Minot. Amtrak uses Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks.

"BNSF Railway's tracks are in service in Minot and we're working to remain in service as long as possible, but we are also planning for when the water will overtake the rail and we'll be out of service. This includes moving crew changes and removing equipment that could get damaged, and developing plans for rerouting traffic where possible," said Amy McBeth, a spokeswoman for BNSF from St. Paul.

"We are also providing emergency relief for crews so that employees who live in Minot get back to town so they can manage their own flood preparations," McBeth said.

She said any outages are posted on the weather updates section found on the BNSF home page at (www.bnsf.com).

For passengers traveling on Amtrak from Seattle and Portland, a combination of trains and chartered motor coaches will provide service to Spokane, Wash., with the "Empire Builder" trains continuing east into Idaho and serving all Montana stops for Glacier National Park (including Whitefish, East and West Glacier and Essex), continuing east to terminate at Havre each afternoon. The trains will originate there to operate back west to Seattle/Portland.

For those passengers traveling west from Chicago, the "Empire Builder" trains will serve all their Wisconsin stops (including Wisconsin Dells), continuing west to terminate at St. Paul each evening. Each morning, the trains will originate there to operate back east to Chicago.

For more information passengers should call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.

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