EDMONTON, Alberta — Early-season forest fires in Alberta temporarily shut down Canadian National’s main line between Jasper and Edmonton over the weekend, forcing VIA Rail Canada to turn the westbound and eastbound Canadians at those locations and bus passengers between them.
Meanwhile, a variety of issues inflicted significant delays on Amtrak long-distance trains. This included an 8-hour delay west of Whitefish, Mont., for the westbound Empire Builder that left Chicago on Friday, May 5, resulting in the cancellation of the Sunday, May 7, eastbound train from the Pacific Northwest to St. Paul, Minn., and Monday’s westbound Builder beyond the Twin Cities to Seattle and Portland, Ore.
Fires in Canada
The CBC reports that 36 fires in central and northern Alberta were “out of control” as of Sunday afternoon, out of some 110 reported fires. More than 25,000 people had been forced out of their homes Saturday, including all 8,000 residents of Edson, Alta., which is on the Jasper-Edmonton portion of the Canadian’s route.
CN and VIA both issued statements Saturday announcing track closures in Alberta because of the fires. VIA’s advisory on its website added, “We are closely monitoring this situation as it impacts service on trains 1 and 2. Due to the nature of the situation, we are unable to estimate the duration of the closure. Impacted passengers will be notified directly.”
The westbound train is already en route from Toronto and the next eastbound is scheduled to leave Vancouver, B.C., today (Monday, May 8) with both passing through the Jasper-Edmonton area on Tuesday afternoon. A VIA spokeswoman tells Trains News Wire that there are no plans at this time to cancel the eastbound train.
A CN source reported that tracks through Edson reopened early Sunday morning; the first train to get through was eastbound intermodal 112 bound for Toronto.
Amtrak challenges
The cause of the westbound Empire Builder’s 8-hour delay between Whitefish and Libby, Mont., was not immediately available. The subsequent cancellations eastbound on Sunday and westbound on Monday are notable because the company was slated to preserve service between Chicago and St. Paul by running a “Baby Builder” on that segment that will depart Chicago today and return Tuesday. This did not happen every time cancellations occurred earlier this year.
Separately, Sunday’s westbound Builder departure from Chicago was cancelled after the train derailed departing Union Station.
The Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed reported the train had been delayed and eventually canceled because of an “unforeseen mechanical issue,” according to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed. Amtrak has not yet responded to a News Wire request for more information, but confirmed to WMAQ-TV that the train actually derailed. That came after a Twitter post by commuter operator Metra saying some trains on its Milwaukee-North, Milwaukee-West, and North Central lines were unable to operate, or were operation under revisions including termination and origination short of downtown, because of an Amtrak derailment on Sunday.
Amtrak’s statement to the TV station said that “upon the slow-speed departure from Chicago, some of the wheels on two cars of the train lost contact with the track.”
Other long-distance trains suffering substantial weekend setbacks include:
Train Dep. date Direction Location of delay Length
California Zephyr May 5 Westbound Denver-Fraser, Colo. 8 hrs.
California Zephyr May 6 Eastbound Colfax-Truckee, Calif. 6 hrs.
Coast Starlight May 5 Southbound Seattle-Tacoma 4 hrs.
Empire Builder May 5 Eastbound Shelby-Wolf Point, Mont. 3 hrs.
Lake Shore Ltd. May 6 Westbound New York 2.5 hrs.
According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, track obstructions and freight train interference were the main reason for the Zephyr and Builder delays, while mechanical issues departing their originating terminals hurt the Starlight and Lake Shore.
In addition, both eastbound and westbound Southwest Chiefs were each delayed 2 hours Saturday by signal issues between Lamy and Las Vegas, N.M., on a BNSF-owned line in which they are the only trains operating.
— Updated at 8:30 a.m. CDT with cancellation of Sunday westbound Empire Builder from Chicago; updated at 10:25 a.m. with additional information on Metra and Hiawatha cancellations. Updated at 10:45 a.m. with news report confirming Empire Builder derailment on Sunday.
Unless there were track crews working between Las Vegas and Lamy there are seven sidings between those two points. Not sure how much PTC limits the dispatchers power, but it seems like given a meeting point based on the dispatchers judgement. Even with having to get radio clearance past each dark signal travel over that section could be done in less than two hours of delay.
Service is not priority # 1. CYA comes first.
There is no such thing as a derailment, after the recent NS events, etc. However, according to newspeak, the wheels do occasionally “lose contract with the track.” Not the same thing, you see.
Also, no minibuilder to replace it.
Yesterday (5/7) #7 died just out of Chicago limped back Union Station according to Amtrak. Train annulled.
It actually derailed in the station
So WHY OH WHY OH WHY does Amtrak NOT turn the train in Spokane like they used to when 7 is late? Take a sixth set of equipment out of storage, FIX it and assign to Seattle and Portland so when 7 & 27 are late, and on time 8 can be run out of Seattle and Portland.
This train is no longer worthy of the name Empire Builder. It’s the train that get annulled the most and James J Hill would not approve of it’s current operation