Amtrak shuts down from Havre east

The passenger rail service that runs along the Hi-Line has been disrupted due to flooding, again.

Amtrak announced that the Empire Builder will not run between St. Paul, Minn., and Havre until further notice due to the traffic on the railroad tracks being disrupted in North Dakota.

Marc Magliari, spokesman for Amtrak, said the tracks in Minot, N.D., hadn't been closed yet today, but would be by Wednesday.

No alternate transportation will be available between those two cities.

Magliari said the passenger trains still will be running from Havre west.

Amtrak will use trains and chartered motorcoaches to provide service from Portland, Ore., and Seattle to Spokane, Wash.

The Empire Builder trains will cotntinue east into Idaho and to all Montana stops for Glacier National Park, including Whitefish, East and West Glacier and Essex, then continuing east to terminate at Havre each afternoon.

The return service will run from Havre back through those points to the West Coast.

Amtrak will continue its service from Chicago to St. Paul, including all stops in Wisconsin.

The route cancellation comes after flooding disrupted service through most of Minnesota and all of Montana, North Dakota and Idaho earlier this month.