(The following appeared on the Effingham Daily News website on May 11, 2011.)
EFFINGHAM, Ill. — Travel time from Effingham to New Orleans on Amtrak usually takes nearly a whole day, but due to flooding in the southern part of the state, it will take even longer because trains can’t travel between Carbondale and Memphis.
Of the six trains ordinarily running in Illinois — three northbound and three southbound — one set hasn’t operated its full route to and from New Orleans since April 26, said Marc Magliari, spokesperson for Amtrak’s midwestern division.
The problem lies in southern Illinois where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers have flooded the tracks, forcing Amtrak to stop its New Orleans southbound train at the Carbondale station, and its northbound train at the Memphis station.
Full story: Effingham Daily News