(The following story by Tu-Uyen Tran appeared on the Grand Forks Herald website on January 13, 2010.)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said Wednesday he’ll be meeting with representatives from Amtrak to ensure the Empire Builder passenger rail service will continue.
There’d been rumors earlier in the week in Devils Lake that the train no longer would stop there or in Grand Forks. Amtrak representatives said they had no plans to do that at this time.
Dorgan revealed in a statement, though, that Amtrak is worried about the long-term threat to safety posed by flooding around a portion of the railroad that Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Corp. owns near Churchs Ferry, N.D., northwest of Devils Lake. BNSF representatives will also be at the meeting.
The Empire Builder line connects Chicago to Seattle, going through the Twin Cities and northern North Dakota cities.
Dorgan is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the appropriations subcommittee that funds Amtrak.