Mudslides are again disrupting Amtrak service in the Seattle area. Here's a video of a recent slide and what it does to a BNSF freight. The big slide occurs at about the 1:00 mark.
There is ARRA money being spent on slope stabilization projects, but the work is still in the design phase.
Posted by TwinStarRocket (Member # 2142) on :
I can see why BNSF only allows empty passenger trains through when the ground is unstable!
This led me to another video of a CN washout caught from the beginning. Imagine the ties moving under your feet. Appropriate viewing on the eve of the end of the world.
It's been more than 2 weeks since any passenger train ran between Seattle and Everett but after a break in the weather and a couple of dry and sunny days, Amtrak trains will be back in action starting tomorrow morning (Jan. 3).
Posted by Vincent206 (Member # 15447) on :
Never mind! The rains came back, the hills came down and Amtrak is, once again, cancelled between Seattle and Everett.
Posted by Vincent206 (Member # 15447) on :
The Pacific Northwest got drenched this past week as the remnants of Typhoon Usagi passed over us; but, so far, no mudslides have occurred and Amtrak and Sound Transit trains are operating normally. Conveniently, BNSF also wrapped up construction on the first of the hillside stabilization projects that are designed to keep the mud off the tracks. The results aren't pretty, but if they do the job, train passengers can look in the other direction and see Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains instead of a pile of rocks.