64 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

 

 

Amtrak Services Disrupted between Seattle and Everett, Wash.

Alternate transportation provided for Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains

 

 

December 11, 2014
1:30 p.m. PT

 

BNSF Railway Co. has imposed a moratorium on passenger trains between Seattle and Everett, Wash., due to a landslide. These tracks are used by Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains and are expected to reopen on Friday evening.

 

Alternate transportation with chartered buses is being provided between Seattle and Everett, Wash. and will cover all missed stops. Normal train operations north of Everett and south of Seattle.

 

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.

Passengers with travel plans can confirm their train's status, change their plans or review refund information using a range of tools – including http://Amtrak.com/ , smartphone apps or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. Service Alerts, Passenger Notices and other announcements are posted at http://Amtrak.com/alerts  .

[KevinKorell]

 

Amtrak Service Disruption between Seattle and Everett, Wash., Continues

 

Alternate transportation provided for Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains

 

 

Dec. 12, 2014
5:40 a.m. PT

 

The BSNF Railway Co. moratorium on passenger trains between Seattle and Everett, Wash., due to a landslide continues. These tracks are used by Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains and are expected to open Sunday morning. Alternate transportation with chartered buses is being provided between Seattle and Everett, Wash., and will cover all missed stops. Normal train operations north of Everett, Wash., and south of Seattle continues.

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.

Passengers with travel plans can confirm their train's status, change their plans or review refund information using a range of tools – including http://Amtrak.com/ , smartphone apps or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. Service Alerts, Passenger Notices and other announcements are posted at http://Amtrak.com/alerts .

[Lightning]

 

Rainy-day closures for north Sounder commuter trains?

Sound Transit will consider canceling north-line trains as a safety precaution before mudslides strike, after a close call this week.

 

Continued grumblings about cancellations on the north line.  Read the entire article from the Seattle Times here.

[KevinKorell]

The Sounder North Line has seemed to be the agency's unwanted stepchild, and certainly the more cancellations that occur, whether preemptive or after a side occurs, can't bode well for the line's future.  The number of service disruptions, while caused by nature, are still disruptive to a commuter's routine. And if the slide occurs during the day while a commuter is at work, that person has to wonder how he or she will get home. Sure buses are added, but it puts them in traffic that they would have avoided on the train.  Sounder had to know those risks before they started running the North Line, but its existence may have been a political move to appease voters north of the city to bring them the commuter rail service that communities to the south already had. The fact that the line exists within the continental United States' only rainforest should not have been overlooked.

[Sloan]

 

After eight years of riding Sounder commuter trains, Alana Kelton could tell this was no ordinary stop.

She didn’t see train-station lights through the window. The train slowed rather abruptly — as if a car driver saw a yellow traffic light and suddenly braked rather than rolling through.

“None of the horns or whistles were blowing. It was a forceful stop,” she said.

Fortunately, the engineer Wednesday night saw the mud from a landslide in time to apply emergency brakes just before reaching Everett. The train stopped with its front end in shallow debris.

http://seattletimes....udslidexml.html

[Lightning]

The Sounder North Line has seemed to be the agency's unwanted stepchild, and certainly the more cancellations that occur, whether preemptive or after a side occurs, can't bode well for the line's future.  The number of service disruptions, while caused by nature, are still disruptive to a commuter's routine. And if the slide occurs during the day while a commuter is at work, that person has to wonder how he or she will get home. Sure buses are added, but it puts them in traffic that they would have avoided on the train.  Sounder had to know those risks before they started running the North Line, but its existence may have been a political move to appease voters north of the city to bring them the commuter rail service that communities to the south already had. The fact that the line exists within the continental United States' only rainforest should not have been overlooked

Kevin:  You make some good points.  There was a political calculation involved.  But the tracks ARE there so why not take advantage of?  Mudslides were not an issue too many years ago.  Something has clearly changed--in the sky and on the ground.  Homeowners continue to build on unstable cliffs and cut down water-retaining vegetation for their sacrosanct views.  Views of water and near-by mountains cause more problems here than any other place I know of.  Rains are heavier than in the past and the winters are much warmer meaning almost all of the precip falls as rain.  But when Sounder North is running consistently, which is most of the year, it remains by far the best commuter alternative.  Luckily, I no longer have to get up early, but sometimes when I happen to awaken at, say, 6 AM and turn on the radio, the highway from Everett to Seattle is often already in crush mode, with drive times frequently exceeding the hour it takes Sounder to cover the distance.  And of course commuting by rail is such a pleasant trip, right along the waters of Puget Sound, let alone the extreme hassle of rush hour traffic. 

 

The slides impact Amtrak also, and to a lesser--but still significant extent given the volume of traffic--BNSF freights.  The entities are working on a fix and in time this problem should greatly lessen.  My only hope and prayer is that ST keep the faith in the meantime!

[CNJRoss]

Amtrak Service Alert:

 

Amtrak Resumes Service between Seattle and Everett, Wash.

BNSF Railway re-opens tracks to Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains after landslide cleared

 

December 14, 2014

1:00 a.m. PT

 

The BNSF Railway has cleared its tracks of a landslide and re-opened the route between Seattle and Everett, Wash., to passenger train service. Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains have now resumed normal operations.

 

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.

[Lightning]

Heavy rainfall yesterday.  Mudslide right "on schedule"  .

 

From Sound Transit:

 

Update: Train 1704 (5:05 pm Seattle departure) is 30 minutes delayed en route to Mukilteo. Buses will take the passengers of 1704 to Everett Station.

 

Northline train 1700 (4:05 pm Seattle departure) is going back to Mukilteo to unload passengers due to a mudslide south of Everett Station. Train 1702 (4:33 pm Seattle departure) is at Mukilteo currently unloading passengers. Buses are being arranged to take the passengers from Mukilteo to Everett Station.

 

Train 1706 (5:35 pm Seattle departure) is canceled. Riders can take regularly scheduled buses which will post to www.soundtransit.org/alerts shortly.

 

Information for Friday 12/26/14 service will be sent prior to the commute.

 

 

 

 

[KevinKorell]

Posted December 24, 2014 7:30 pm PST: 

 

 

Amtrak Service Suspended Between Seattle and Everett, Wash. Due to Landslide

 

 

 

BNSF Railway Co. has imposed a moratorium on passenger trains between Seattle and Everett, Wash., due to a landslide. The tracks, which are used by Amtrak Cascades and Empire Builder trains, are expected to reopen on Friday, December 26.

Amtrak is working to secure alternate transportation between Seattle and Everett at this time. 

Amtrak regrets any inconvenience. This information is correct as of the above time and date. Information is subject to change as conditions warrant.

Passengers with travel plans can confirm their train's status, change their plans or review refund information using a range of tools – including http://Amtrak.com/ , smartphone apps or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. Service Alerts, Passenger Notices and other announcements are posted at http://Amtrak.com/alerts  .

[Lightning]

This afternoon, I just happened to be at the Edmonds ferry dock (where my sister was boarding a bus for Sequim via the Edmonds ferry), when the VERY EMPTY Chicago-bound Empire Builder rocketed through (it usually stops at the nearby Edmonds station and thus passes by the ferry dock at slow speed).  Of course the pax had been bussed from KSS and were awaiting the train at the Everett station, beyond the location of the slide, so no need to stop the train at Edmonds.  Maybe tomorrow.