Rail delays change Empire Builder schedule

Along with warnings of delays in grain sales, increased traffic on the BNSF Railway tracks along the Hi-Line are causing changes to passenger rail service.

Amtrak has set a new schedule for the Empire Builder that runs along the Hi-Line effective April 15, with the hope of reducing delays.

Both the eastbound and westbound Empire Builders were about three hours behind schedule getting to Havre Tuesday.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari of Chicago said Tuesday that the traffic congestion led to the national passenger rail service working with BNSF to find a better schedule for the Empire Builder.

"We'll see how well this goes," he said, adding that further schedule changes could be made as the results of the changes are examined.

The schedule will be about the same between St. Paul and Chicago, but the changes between St. Paul and the West Coast - to Portland, Ore., and Seattle - will change.

The shift puts passengers headed east in Havre three hours earlier, with the new schedule listing the arrival of the Empire Builder at 10:12 a.m. and departure at 10:32 a.m.

The schedule now in place has the eastbound Empire Builder arriving in Havre at 1:12 p.m. and departing at 1:32 p.m.

The schedule for the westbound train is pushed back about an hour later, with the Havre arrival moving from 2:39 p.m. to 3:34 p.m. and the departure changing from 3:04 p.m. to 3:59 p.m.

The delays also are leading to warnings for grain producers to plan ahead in shipping their produce.

Montana Grain Growers Association Past President Ryan McCormick of Kremlin told producers at a meeting at the Northern Agricultural Research Center last month that, while BNSF is adding more engines and working on tracks to reduce congestion, they likely can expect delays in selling grain this year and probably into 2015.

The railway company spent more than $4 billion on its infrastructure last year, including $220 million in North Dakota primarily to deal with Bakken Formation oil traffic and another $115 million in Montana including work on the Hi-Line.

McCormick said BNSF plans to invest another $5 billion in infrastructure this year.

With the increased traffic from oil and other freight, the Hi-Line track has been busy, leading to delays.

Weather also has caused problems for the Empire Builder this year, including a derailment followed by an avalanche a few days later early last month, stalling the passenger rail service.

Mudslides in Washington this week also have delayed the service, with Amtrak again busing passengers around the blocked tracks as it did last month.