(The following report by Brad Wong appeared on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website on December 28.)
SEATTLE — Passengers accustomed to taking trains between Seattle and Everett will have to wait at least until Friday morning for normal service to resume after heavy rains Tuesday night caused a mudslide onto Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks in Carkeek Park in Seattle, said Gus Melonas, a company spokesman.
Railroad crews cleared the 30-foot-long, 3-foot-deep spill early Wednesday morning. But as a safety precaution, service for Amtrak and Sound Transit trains was temporarily stopped.
“We have experienced some slippage on the cliffs adjacent to our right of way,” Melonas said.
Service for passenger trains is expected to resume at 1 a.m. Friday. A federal rule requires passenger trains to wait 48 hours after a landslide is discovered, officials said.
On Wednesday, buses were provided for rail passengers between Seattle and Everett. Bus service is expected to continue today.
Freight trains, though, were running again by about 4 a.m. Wednesday, Melonas said.
The temporary closure affected passengers who take Sound Transit’s commuter trains between Seattle and Everett, said Geoff Patrick, an agency spokesman.
Sound Transit provides two commuter trains in the morning from Everett to Seattle. In the afternoon, there are two northbound trips from Seattle to Everett.
All of these Sound Transit commuter trains stop in Edmonds.
Amtrak canceled passenger service on two of its routes.
Passengers on the Amtrak Cascades were provided with bus service to and from Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., according to an Amtrak statement.
The mudslides did not affect Amtrak service from Seattle to Eugene, Ore.
Those traveling on the Empire Builder, which runs from Chicago to Seattle, were provided bus service from Everett to the Emerald City.
Amtrak also said it would provide bus service from Seattle to Everett for passengers on this line.
The mudslide occurred about midnight and covered both sets of tracks in Carkeek Park.
Trees and other debris also landed on BNSF-owned lines. One of the largest trees to hit tracks along the BNSF corridor measured 24 inches in diameter and 60 feet in length, Melonas said.
While some trees fell on tracks south of Tacoma, BNSF lines south of Seattle were not affected, he added.
About 20 railroad employees used front-end loaders and heavy trucks, including those that use the tracks, to remove the mud, debris and trees.
BNSF inspectors also examined the tracks and surrounding area for problems, Melonas said.
There were no reports of rail washouts or damaged rail tracks, he added. The railway company’s drainage system was able to handle the precipitation.
While the mudslide temporarily stopped train service, the number of mudslides that the Seattle Transportation Department has cleared this year is not significantly high.
“We’ve had years where we’ve had more events,” said Gregg Hirakawa, a department spokesman.
“But winter is just starting. So, we’ll see.”
Since November, heavy rains have caused two slides near the Beacon Hill reservoir, he said. On Dec. 14, one slide occurred on Lakeview Boulevard East, and one slide occurred in the 1000 block of Elliott Avenue West.
City transportation crews, he said, typically build a retaining wall to protect city streets. But some slides occur on private property, and owners are responsible for their own land, he added.