(The following story by Brent Hunsberger appeared on The Oregonian website on December 4.)
PORTLAND, Ore. — The major rail route between Portland and Seattle remained closed for a second day Tuesday and likely won’t reopen until Wednesday evening.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, which owns the tracks, rerouted freight trains through the Columbia River gorge and two Cascade mountain passes east of Seattle, BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said.
Amtrak said passenger service, which uses the BNSF tracks, also remains shut down between Portland and Vancouver, B.C..
The earliest passenger or rail traffic would resume in the corridor is 6 p.m. Wednesday, though no official opening time has been set, Melonas said.
“Both main lines are underwater at some locations,” Melonas said. But, he added, “we are noticing the levels are decreasing.”
About 40 percent of Puget Sound freight business had been impacted by the closure. But most of the Portland-Vancouver market was not affected, Melonas said.
Initially, an 80-foot-long landslide three miles north of Vancouver closed the tracks at 2:30 a.m., covering the rails in muck up to 6 feet deep. Crews cleared the tracks later in the day. But high water near Centralia, Wash., halted traffic again at 6 p.m. Monday, Melonas said.
Amtrak said in a statement that no alternative service will be provided. It said it was trying to alert passengers booked on the Cascades route.
Train service between Portland and Eugene will run as scheduled, however. There are four trains a day between the two cities, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
The Coast Starlight service, which whisks passengers between Los Angeles and Seattle, will not run the Eugene to Seattle leg, a spokeswoman said. Alternative transportation will be provided only between Eugene and Portland.
For more information, check out the Amtrak Web site or call 800-USA-RAIL (800-872-7245).