Empire Builder - Flooding Problems

Flooding Problems

The line has come under threat from flooding multiple times from the Missouri, Souris, Red, and Mississippi Rivers, and has occasionally had to suspend or alter service when waters rise. While most service gets restored in days or weeks, the rising water of Devils Lake in North Dakota, which has no natural outlet, poses a more long-standing threat to the route. The lowest top-of-rail elevation in the lake crossing is 1,455.7 ft (443.70 m). In spring 2011, the lake reached 1,454.3 ft (443.27 m), causing service interruptions on windy days when high waves threatened the tracks.

BNSF, which owns the track, suspended freight operations through Devils Lake in 2009 and threatened to allow the rising waters to cover the line unless Amtrak could provide $100 million to raise the track. In that case, the Empire Builder would have been rerouted to the south, dropping service to Rugby, Devils Lake, and Grand Forks. In June 2011, an agreement was reached whereby Amtrak and BNSF would each cover 1/3 of the cost with the remaining dollars to be provided by federal and state governments. In December 2011 ND was awarded a $10 million TIGER grant from the US Department of Transportation to assist with the state portion of the cost. Work may begin as early as summer 2012. When the track raise is complete, the top-of-rail elevation will be 1,469.1 ft (447.78 m). This is 11 feet above the level at which the lake will naturally overflow and will thus provide a permanent solution to the recurring issues with Devils Lake flooding on the Empire Builder route.

In the spring/summer of 2011, flooding of the Souris river in and near Minot, ND prevented the Empire Builder from traveling through Minot in the latter part of June, and for the majority of the month of July. For some of that time, on the eastern end of the route, the Empire Builder ran from Chicago and terminated in Minneapolis/St Paul; on the western end, the Empire Builder terminated in Havre, MT. (There was also flooding in other locations along the route of the Empire Builder, such as near Devils Lake, ND. Further west, areas along the Missouri river also flooded.)