Freight-train rail congestion forces Amtrak to change times

Amtrak’s Empire Builder passenger trains will operate on a temporary modified schedule starting April 15 because of freight-train congestion.

The eastbound trains leaving Seattle and Portland will begin their trek three hours earlier. For eastbound passengers getting on in Northwestern Montana, that means departing the train depots considerably earlier.

Amtrak customers in Libby are encouraged to go to the Amtrak webpage for Libby to check times. That webpage is www.amtrak.com. Persons should click on the schedules tab where they can inquire about specific departure times.

The westbound trains leaving Chicago will start out about 90 minutes later, for a later departure time in Libby.  

Schedules between St. Paul and Chicago are largely unchanged.

“We are working closely with BNSF Railway Co., which owns the tracks and controls the dispatching of the Empire Builder trains between St. Paul and the West Coast, in order to publish a schedule that accounts for the freight train congestion and the condition of the BNSF-owned infrastructure,” Jim Brzezinski, route director for the Empire Builder, said in an Amtrak press release.

“We will assess the ability of BNSF to dispatch the Empire Builder with better reliability on this schedule, with further schedule changes possible in June.”

Amtrak routinely notifies customers with existing reservations who are affected by schedule modifications such as this one.