AmTrak Getting Back On Track

It's been a rough year for being on time. Amtrak has struggled to keep on schedule, but Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari explained that BNSF has helped them get back on track with their investments into improvements.

The Empire Builder is going back to the scheduling they had about a year ago in the West and restarted that schedule on Monday, Jan. 12. Magliari said said Amtrak officials took a tour last week, including a stop in Glasgow, visiting with the press about the schedule changes and said that this year is expected to be much better with less delays.

“We're hoping to have much more reliable service and a more popular schedule,” Magliari said.

In a press release from Amtrak,it was stated that arrival and departure times are more conducive to travel to areas like Flathead Vally and Glacier Park. Trips to Leavenworth and Spokane, Washington will also resume. Heading east, three additional hours were added.

BNSF Regional Director of Public Affairs Matthew Jones explained that they put in $1 billion in construction projects in the Northern corridor to help add capacity and improve traffic along the route. They spent an overall $5.5 billion on capital improvements in 2014. This upcoming year the Northern region has an additional $700 million planed for projects to expand the rail lines.

Those expansions will include the continuation of installing a double track on the Glasgow subdivision between Minot, North Dakota, and Snowden. In the last year, 55 miles were double tracked along that corridor, and an additional 60 miles is planned for the upcoming year. A total of $6 billion is planned nationwide for capital improvements.

To find more information on scheduling, visit Amtrak.com.