#28 Empire Builder Delays

[jariedel]

I have friends traveling on the Empire Builder this afternoon from Portland to St. Paul. I have noticed that there have been major delays this past week. Any ideas on why the delays and if they will continue? We were hoping that they would be here Friday morning close to ontime for a special event. I am just looks for information and what is causing the delays?

Thanks!

 

[anir dendroica]

If you look back through the threads you will see plenty of discussion about Empire Builder delays.

In short, they are caused by:

1. Slow orders (speed restrictions) over flood-damaged track, mainly in North Dakota and Montana.

2. Temporary track closures/speed restrictions for repair and maintenance (more than usual due to flooding).

3. Freight congestion, mainly on BNSF between Minot and the west coast (mostly single-track railroad with above-average traffic volume).

4. Long station stops due to sold-out trains with lots of passengers getting on and off.

5. Late departures from Chicago (no one has been able to provide a good explanation for this).

Weekend trains seem to do somewhat better than weekday trains, most likely due to less trackwork on weekends. I suspect the delays will continue for at least another couple of months.

Mark

 

[Bartle]

If you look back through the threads you will see plenty of discussion about Empire Builder delays.

In short, they are caused by:

1. Slow orders (speed restrictions) over flood-damaged track, mainly in North Dakota and Montana.

2. Temporary track closures/speed restrictions for repair and maintenance (more than usual due to flooding).

3. Freight congestion, mainly on BNSF between Minot and the west coast (mostly single-track railroad with above-average traffic volume).

4. Long station stops due to sold-out trains with lots of passengers getting on and off.

5. Late departures from Chicago (no one has been able to provide a good explanation for this).

Weekend trains seem to do somewhat better than weekday trains, most likely due to less trackwork on weekends. I suspect the delays will continue for at least another couple of months.

Mark

Thank you Mark for the information. I didn't realize that there were still so many resdiual impacts from the floods. I guess I was being more optimistic that once the route was reopened, that magically all of the issues would disappear. I will keep my fingers crossed that the EB is not delayed too much in the up coming days, but will plan for it!