From: McClatchy DC
McClatchy Washington Bureau December 23, 2013
WASHINGTON — Freight
congestion has caused massive delays and even cancellations of a popular
Amtrak train in recent months, a situation that could worsen as one of
the nation’s largest rail companies plans to increase shipments of
fossil fuels on much of the route.
The Empire Builder, which runs
from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, Ore., carries more passengers
than any of Amtrak’s long-distance trains, 543,000 in 2012.
But
it also recorded the worst on-time performance in Amtrak’s nationwide
network in November, at 44.5 percent. Any number below 80 percent is
considered substandard under a law Congress passed in 2008.
Amtrak
took the drastic step this month of canceling five Empire Builder
trains in one week, three eastbound and two westbound, between St. Paul,
Minn., and Spokane, Wash. Delays in North Dakota and Montana were
causing an imbalance of equipment and personnel at each end of the
scenic, 2,000-mile run across the country’s northern tier. MORE
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