ND Oil, Freight Shipments Detour Amtrak Trains, AP, 2/9/14
The ice fishing in northeast North Dakota is the best it’s been in two decades, but some anglers can’t make it because trains handling freight and crude from the state’s oil patch are displacing Amtrak passenger service.
The federally funded rail corporation, which uses BNSF Railway Co. lines, said the “severe freight train interference” is causing long delays along its Chicago-to-Pacific Northwest Empire Builder route. In North Dakota, Amtrak trains are bypassing the cities of Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby. Passengers in those cities are being bused to either Minot or to Fargo to reconnect to westbound or eastbound trains.
The detours are expected to continue through February, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.
More:
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/02/09/nd-oil-freight-shipments-detour-amtrak-trains/
Northstar delays prompt legislative hearings, Kare11, 2/24/14
The dramatic increase in freight traffic is a product of the North Dakota oil boom. Almost all of that oil is transported by rail.
"The freight traffic has precedence over the passenger traffic and these rail companies need to communicate more effectively and schedule better so that they do not interfere with our commuter traffic," said Hornstein.
... Passengers have told KARE 11 News in recent weeks that unreliable service for the commute to work in Minneapolis was prompting them to consider finding other transportation to the city.
More:
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/02/24/northstar-legislature-delays-hornstein-dibble-bnsf/5789071/
In fairness, here is BNSF's response:
BNSF: Cold, not oil trains, delaying Northstar Commuter Rail, MPR News, 2/27/14
...The BNSF Railway says cold weather is to blame for delays on the Northstar Commuter Rail line that runs from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis.
For the last two months, 12 percent of Northstar trains have been delayed. Normally, only 2 percent arrive late. {{ there are stories about many being delayed nearly an hour or more --Progree}}
... Sweeney says contrary to some media reports, freight trains carrying oil from North Dakota have no effect on the delays. He noted that commuter rail service in Chicago has faced a similar increase in delays this winter.
More:
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/02/27/weather/cold-weather-behind-northstar-delays
We shall see. Like this spring passenger trains will be delayed by flooding and wet weather. This summer trains will be delayed by hot weather causing the rails to expand and buckle and engines to overheat and break down. And so on.
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