Hey Mark; nice piece of reporting. Only thing that wll save Amtrak service in this area is BNSF's desire to run freight trains...just hope there's room for a Builder in each direction !33 pictures from BNSF today:
http://www.bnsf.com/customers/pdf/weather/2011-06-27.pdf
My heart goes out to all those folks with homes on page 6 of that PDF.
Amazingly, the bridges in Minot look to be still in place beneath the flood, though whether they will be structurally sound is another matter. The Verendrye crossing is plenty high, though the water is above the concrete portion of the piers and BNSF has imposed a 10 mph slow order across it. The Devils Lake sub is within a foot or two of being overtopped, and with the water there having risen 2.5 feet since yesterday it may be under now.
Here's a map of the area for those unfamiliar. BNSF tracks are in red. The yellow and green highlighted areas are flooding.
Given that Towner is far downstream of Minot, I expect that the KO sub will reopen first. Then Amtrak will have to decide whether to run the EB over the KO sub (bypassing Rugby, Devils Lake, and Grand Forks) or to wait for the Devils Lake line to reopen.
Mark
Probably shouldn't expect anything for the inconvenience, BUT...it never hurts to ask. All the trains are great. Do the EB and the CZ some other time. I have a 9/21 EB ticket to PDX. Starting to even worry a bit about that. Good to have found this forum!
While I can understand that you didn't want the uncertainty of waiting, the fact that you were proactive in making the change before Amtrak officially cancelled the train, pretty much kills your getting anything extra. In fact, Amtrak could have charged you the going rate for rooms on the Zephyr, instead of honoring the same price you had for the Builder.
I'm assuming you have a July 23rd. sailing, right??
You're all set now! I know your pain & frustration!! Just keep in mind that not even Amtrak can control Mother Nature!!! AND, your 1st train ride is gonna be great !!!!
:hi: Congrats on the CZ/CS Snag and the Honeymoon! Weve had a Couple of Members that had their Honeymoons on Amtrak including Ryan from WAS to the NW! You can Google up the Trip Reports, Ryan does Excellent Reports and Pics! IMO the CZ/CS :wub: is a Better Route than the Empire Builder, Best of Luck to You and your Fiancee!
I can't think of any scenario, short of another flood, that would keep the line out of service past 8/10 or so. Little or no additional rain is predicted. Floodwaters should be below track level by around 7/7, might take a week after that for things to dry out. Track bed repairs are fast. Could be another couple of weeks if they need to repair/replace bridges. BNSF has a strong incentive to get the line open, so things should go pretty fast once the water recedes.
