(The Associated Press circulated the following article on August 16.)
FARGO, N.D. — Railroad tracks on North Dakota’s northern tier will continue serving Amtrak’s Empire Builder despite a report that says the rails are “at risk,” a Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman said.
Amtrak’s five-year strategic plan, released in June, said the Burlington Northern railway between Grand Forks and Minot is “at risk due to infrastructure condition, potential downgrade and/or abandonment.”
However, Burlington Northern spokesman Gus Melonas said trains will keep rolling along the 200 miles of rail in question.
“There are no plans to abandon the line, and trains will continue to operate at this point per necessary operating requirements,” he said.
The Empire Builder runs on BNSF’s line from Chicago to Seattle. Amtrak’s regional spokesman, Marc Magliari, said the report on the North Dakota rails “came from our ongoing discussions with BNSF.” If Burlington Northern now says the line isn’t at risk, “then that’s good,” he said.
“We have no desire to reroute the train or discontinue service – quite the contrary,” Magliari said.
The Empire Builder line recently marked its 75th year of service across the northern United States. Amtrak said the number of riders on the Empire Builder increased from 368,000 in 2002 to about 415,700 last year.
Stations on the stretch of rail in question served a combined 6,529 riders from October through December 2003, compared with 4,491 riders during the same period a year earlier.
Burlington Northern’s freight traffic is relatively light on the Grand Forks-Minot line, said Robert Johnston, the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s rail planner.
Burlington Northern lists four trains per day traveling between the two cities, compared with 15 trains between Mandan and Dickinson and 19 trains each day between Bismarck and Fargo, Johnston said.