Amtrak suspending service between Minot, St. Paul

Once they cash their stimulus check maybe they'll lay solid gold track to Seattle.

Perhaps Saint Paul and Minot are the only two stations where the train can turn around, back to Chicago in Saint Paul and back to the West Coast in Minot. It would be an overnight in Saint Paul. Let's hope the stoppage isn't for a long duration.

The problem most likely has to do with standing water, or saturated ground. The route closely parallels the Red River between Fargo and Grand Forks. Saint Paul and Minot are the "servicing stops" on either side, where Amtrak contracts with BNSF for locomotive fueling and maintenance. These are the logical points to "turn" the trains around, as Walter correctly observes. Passengers will likely be carried on Greyhound-type chartered buses between the two cities.

24 hours is a minor disruption, as these things go, and Amtrak is just being prudent and cautious.

Does this mean that St. Paul will be isolated? How can Oba**y let this happen to the city that elected him?

Ever have an airplane NOT fly because of bad track?

Bob wrote:

Ever have an airplane NOT fly because of bad track?

No, but the next time MSP shuts down due to weather, it's a safe bet Amtrak will still be running.

And, here's a topic to meditate on-- what are the consequences of engine failure or icing on a passenger train? How about on a 737?

Unfortunately, I received a call from Amtrak today to tell me that my Thursday train from here to Chicago was canceled. I scrambled to make plane reservations and then received a call back saying that the train actually was running. Now I have two tickets and I'm crabby.

And, if they really do use the bus in between those stops, it means the train will be very late.:(

Amtrak should offer you a refund of the less-expensive ticket, since you scrambled to find an airline seat based on their erroneous information.

If the "interruption" is still in place, then Wednesday evening's westbound train from Chicago will spend the night at the Amtrak station in St. Paul, and will be ready to return to Chicago Thursday morning. Amtrak has had experience with these sorts of things --springtime flooding along the tracks is an annual occurrence somewhere or other-- hopefully they will have their act together enough to have different buses serving different intermediate stops, so the delay should be minimal. Since Saint Paul to Chicago is the most heavily-traveled portion of the route, I suspect they'd perhaps opt to bus the passengers all the way to Chicago, rather than hold the train three or four hours in Saint Paul.

Good luck, and (seriously) try pursuing that refund. It may take a few phone calls and e-mails, but you might just be successful.

this is unfair to north dakota. north dakota is a very underrated state. two democrat senators doesn't make any sense, but still ND is OK.

Air travel is safer than train travel.

When was the last time trains traveled anywhere close to air or car?

2007 miles traveled:

cars 3,014,116,000,000 miles trillions

air 6,619,000,000 miles billions

rail 300,000,000 miles millions

A co-worker of mine perferred rail and traveled to Wilmington Delaware on the train and flew home. NEVER to use the train again.

Trains just suck!

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human too wrote:

<quoted text>
No, but the next time MSP shuts down due to weather, it's a safe bet Amtrak will still be running.
And, here's a topic to meditate on-- what are the consequences of engine failure or icing on a passenger train? How about on a 737?