Mudslide halts ‘Cascades;’ ‘Empire Builder’ returns after three-day pause from avalanche threat (updated)

CENTRALIA, Wash. — A mudslide south of Centralia on Friday, March 13, has triggered a BNSF-imposed ban for occupied passenger trains through the area, resulting in cancellation of all Amtrak Cascades Seattle-Portland service. Trains won’t resume until Monday, March 16, though already-ticketed Cascades and Coast Starlight passengers are being offered substitute bus transportation during the outage.

Meanwhile, the Chicago-Seattle/Portland, Ore., Empire Builder is running again after adverse weather conditions played a role in a full cancellation of the train for three consecutive days.

Cascades canceled

“Eight trees and mud” covered the tracks on Friday afternoon, according to the Cascades website, resulting in the usual 48-hour moratorium BNSF imposes following slides.

An Amtrak Alert on Friday revealed northbound Cascades No. 502 was stopped more than two hours before noon by “downed trees” south of Centralia. Less than an hour later, the southbound Coast Starlight lost only 42 minutes, but it was the last occupied passenger train allowed through the area. Service was originally set to resume Sunday, but a subsequent slide today (Saturday, March 14) pushed Cascades resumption to Monday. Freight traffic apparently continues to move through the slide zone, subject to track conditions.

Patrons traveling north of Portland, Ore., on the Starlight are being bused while the equipment is deadheaded to and from Seattle for overnight servicing. Regularly scheduled Cascades between Portland and Eugene, Ore., and north of Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., continue to operate. Amtrak’s website indicates that all trains through Sunday are “sold out” to preclude additional sales because bus capacity needs are determined based on passengers already booked.

Empire Builder paused

Though Amtrak uses text, phone, and email to notify ticketholders when a disruption occurs, the railroad has lately not offered any explanation on its website for cancellations or why trains are suddenly sold out, as was the case midday Saturday for Sunday’s Cascades departures after the second slide incident.

Thus, after Amtrak received information of what operations strategists perceived to be a dangerous condition along the Empire Builder’s route in Montana early last week, trains in both directions were canceled Wednesday, March 11, through Friday, March 13,  without a service alert or any meaningful outreach at intermediate stations.

When Trains sought explanations, Amtrak initially said in an email that the reason was “a temporary track closure that affects our service on the route.” However, a BNSF representative said the issue was “an avalanche-prone area near Essex, Mont.,” but that trains were continuing to run, adding, “Amtrak should be able to give you more [information] about why they are not operating there.”

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari essentially confirmed that the cancellation was Amtrak’s call, but the host railroad clearly contributed to the decision. In an emailed statement, he noted, “BNSF has a long history with substantial expertise in the challenging environment of mountain railroading. We take their evaluation of these conditions seriously and take the safest course to protect our passengers, crews, and rolling stock.”

Indicating that such options are weighed on a case-by-case basis, Amtrak chose to operate the California Zephyr last month despite heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada [see “I-80 closes but California Zephyr gets through …,” Trains.com, Feb 20, 2026].     

The safest choice can always be defended, though canceling a cross-country train like the Empire Builder for several days can cause substantial inconvenience, especially for people in rural areas who rely on it as the only daily public mobility alternative. Reroute possibilities are seldom available on short notice, if at all.

Truncation of a 2,200-mile route is operationally difficult, but not impossible, and certainly would have a negative impact on the company’s bottom line. The Chicago-St. Paul Borealis subbed on the eastern end during the outage, though the capacity-challenged train is regularly sold out. With a late-season blizzard predicted for Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday, March 15, both Borealis trains are canceled, as is the westbound Empire Builder, in a late change.

Empire Builder departures in both directions have subsequently been canceled on both Monday, March 16, and Tuesday, March 17. Amtrak did not respond to a request for additional information.

When the avalanche threat in Montana canceled the Builder, anyone who had planned to use the train west of the Twin Cities was left without transportation for three days. Weather and route blockages often intervene, but contingency plans to maintain service over unaffected portions of long-distance routes would help underscore Amtrak’s commitment to its far-flung yet skeletal national network.

— Updated March 15 at 2:15 p.m. to include Sunday cancellation of Empire Builder; updated March 16 at 6:38 p.m. with additional Builder cancellations. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.