(The following story by Lisa Schwarz appeared on the St. Cloud Times website on April 15, 2009.)
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Eastbound passengers on Amtrak’s Empire Builder service will arrive in St. Cloud by bus this morning after high water in North Dakota interrupted normal service.
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The BNSF Railway tracks that Amtrak uses in North Dakota — both the main route and an alternate line — were closed because of a few inches of water over the tracks in some places, BNSF Railway spokesman Steve Forsberg said.
While freight trains are still using the tracks under a 10 mph speed limit, the Amtrak service was canceled as a precaution because of the higher safety standards for passenger rail travel, Forsberg said.
The Empire Builder route normally stops in St. Cloud on its daily runs between Chicago and Portland, Ore., and Seattle. Passengers who intended to board in Chicago on Tuesday for points west of the Twin Cities were left behind. Passengers who were already headed east toward St. Cloud and Chicago were to be bused Tuesday night from Minot, N.D., to St. Cloud, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
Forsberg and Magliari said they hoped Amtrak service would resume today.
Magliari said passengers can call 800-USA-RAIL for current information.