Seattle-Everett passenger, commuter trains canceled
SEATTLE - Passenger and commuter train traffic won't be moving between Seattle and Everett for some time, due to a continuing series of mudslides.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas said Saturday that a 48-hour moratorium on passenger and commuter train service is now being extended indefinitely.
He said engineers are worried about safety due to more than 10 mudslides that have hit tracks in recent days. He said crews will assess the situation day by day.
One of those mudslides derailed seven cars of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train just south of Everett on Monday, in the same area where a slide covered the tracks earlier in the day.
More slides hit the tracks later in the week - including eight on Thursday alone - making this one of the worst years for mudslides there in the past 20 years.
Freight train traffic is moving through the corridor at restricted speeds.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman Gus Melonas said Saturday that a 48-hour moratorium on passenger and commuter train service is now being extended indefinitely.
He said engineers are worried about safety due to more than 10 mudslides that have hit tracks in recent days. He said crews will assess the situation day by day.
One of those mudslides derailed seven cars of a Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train just south of Everett on Monday, in the same area where a slide covered the tracks earlier in the day.
More slides hit the tracks later in the week - including eight on Thursday alone - making this one of the worst years for mudslides there in the past 20 years.
Freight train traffic is moving through the corridor at restricted speeds.
Does anyone think BNSF will ever see the light and build effective walls along that run in our lifetime?
This is another example of why the Amtrak system is so under-used.
It's expensive, unreliable and not very convienent. I recently drove a suburban with 6 people in it to Eugene, OR and back for less $$ than 4 Amtrak tickest would've cost.
@localperspective
Interesting comparison of the cost of driving vs. taking the train. Here are a few thoughts:
1. It's not just trains - the same comparison could be made for flying. If you pile half a dozen people into an SUV, the cost of gas to drive to Miami would be less than the cost of the airline tickets.
2. BUT ... the same does not hold true if you're traveling alone, for which train/plane is generally much cheaper.
3. Did you consider the cost of wear and tear on the vehicle in your cost, or were you just looking at the cost of gas? When you factor in maintenance, tires, depreciation, parking, tolls, and repairs from accidents or road hazards, the true cost per mile of driving a car can be three times as much as the cost of the gas.
4. Time and space. I love driving, but I'd rather eat broken glass than to travel all the way to Eugene and back with half a dozen people crammed into one vehicle. The train provides space while a plane provides time (by traveling quicker).
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Could proper track maintenance prevented these slides? We see this failure to maintain in many/most government entities like schools, sea walls etc.
I came back into town Sunday night on what turned out to be the last train before the tracks were closed. Barely made it, but glad safety is coming first.
"making this one of the worst years for mudslides there in the past 20 years."
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Apparently a couple of decades has not been enough time to figure out practical solutions or maybe there just aren't any. Â
@Opus8no5 Yes, you would think they would have had the landslide areas worked out by now...
maybe cutting down every tree possible and clearing brush to make room for developement isn't a great idea in some areas, such as, bluffs, cliffs, hillsides that run towards the waterways.
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those houses in the pic look like they will be in trouble sooner than later. i feel for them...
 @SwampThing Why?, Due diligence?
@SwampThing
I can't say that I feel for them. You build a house THAT close to a bluff in a part of the country that is infamous for its soggy winters and landslides, and your house eventually slides down the hill. Seems like kind of a "duh" moment to me.
 @Central i see that point of course; still feel bad for them if they lose their home.
 @SwampThing  @Central I don't. They made a choice, albeit a bad one. Such is the price of snobbery. "I have a waterfront view and you don't. Neener, neener!"