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Oil trains spur Amtrak to change schedule

The Columbian
Published: March 31, 2014, 5:00pm

KALISPELL, Mont. — Amtrak officials say the company is changing the schedules of its Empire Builder passenger train because of congestion from increasing oil freight along the line.

The Empire Builder runs daily between Chicago and Seattle or Portland, passing through Glacier National Park. In recent months, it has been consistently late because of freight traffic, particularly trains from North Dakota’s Bakken oil region.

Freight derailments on the line and avalanches also have contributed to the delays this winter.

Eastbound trains from Seattle and Portland will depart three hours earlier, at 1:40 p.m., starting April 15. Westbound trains will run more than an hour later than they are currently scheduled.

Empire Builder route director Jim Brzezinski tells the Flathead Beacon that Amtrak hopes to return the passenger train to its normal schedule in June.

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