Slide risk means trains run empty over pass

High avalanche danger near Marias Pass has prompted Amtrak to bus its Empire Builder passengers between stations in Whitefish and Shelby.

Busing will continue at least through Saturday while Amtrak sends  empty trains over the pass and around the southern edge of Glacier National Park.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said BNSF Railway rules don’t allow loaded passenger trains to run if there has been a recent slide. The rail line was closed late Sunday night until Monday afternoon after an avalanche covered the tracks near Essex with 7 feet of snow and debris.

The Flathead Avalanche Center issued a backcountry avalanche warning Wednesday for much of Northwest Montana, including the Whitefish, Swan and Flathead ranges, along with portions of Glacier National Park.

For the U.S. 2 section between Essex and Marias Pass, the Montana Department of Transportation recommends no stopping for motorists due to the avalanche risk.

In other Amtrak news, the rail passenger service said last week that BNSF has allowed the Empire Builder to travel on its regular route in both directions in North Dakota, restoring normal service to Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby.

This eliminates the practice of detouring the westbound Empire Builder and requiring some Amtrak passengers to transfer to and from chartered buses.

BNSF has additional capacity improvements planned for the upcoming construction season. This work is expected to reduce delays to Amtrak trains and to freight trains. However, many of the projects won’t be complete until late 2014, an Amtrak press release stated.

BNSF owns, maintains and dispatches the tracks used by Amtrak between St. Paul, Minn., and the West Coast. In addition to the daily Amtrak trains, BNSF has very high volumes of freight train traffic that have often delayed Amtrak service.

Amtrak said delays due to freight train interference continue to be likely on the Empire Builder’s route between Chicago and Seattle or Portland.