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Track raising project begins on Empire Builder route in North Dakota
Still can’t figure out why they can’t put a siphon in the silly no-outlet lake. Are they intimidated by the Canadians?
Didn’t the Bnsf get yelled at in Missouri for doing the same thing?
I am glad to see the cooperation to preserve the Empire Builders route. This route should be a national treasure!
I am glad to see the cooperation to preserve the Empire Builders route. This route should be a national treasure!
Word has it BNSF is going to reinstate the Devils Lake line as a through route to relieve the increased traffic on the KO sub through New Rockford. Oil and grain trains would be routed though Devils Lake. Why else would BNSF invest $33 million to raise the rails?
I think giving the KO sub two main tracks would make more economic sense. Anyhoo, it is great that they will perserve the ‘Empire Builder’ route. $33 million is less than the new Rochester, NY “dog stop” will cost, and that’s before NYS over-runs.
Why does every article refer to the flooded area as Devils Lake? The area being raised is at Lake Irvine.
So this is going to become a salt lake? I remember reading that Canada refused to do something that could help, could someone refresh my memory? Thanks!!
Why couldn’t the entire route be redirected to safer high ground? I am not familiar with the topography. Would it not be a better use of the money, because who knows what this body of water will do in the future.
It appears a lot of you don’t realize that area of the country is flat as a pancake with a rise of less than a foot per mile from any low spots. It is all part of a prehistoric lake bed. That is why Fargo ND gets flooded so easily. You can actually see the curve of the earth in much of the area.
States of NM and CO take notice and keep the Raton Pass open for the Southwest Chief. The commitments made in ND paid by the state, Amtrak and BNSF are the best example of govt, industry and Amtrak to work together to solve one major headache in the Devil Lake area without threatening to move the train or discontinue it.
Looks like for once, the oil industry did Amtrak favor with the oil shale drilling going on in ND. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some freight activity to resume on this line in a couple of years or so.
Leonard, I don’t believe Canada has anything to do with it. We have the same problem in South Dakota where 7 lakes have merged into one. The nearest natural outlet is the Big Sioux River, but they say half of Day County would be underwater before natural drainage will occur. And George, they are raising the road bed higher than the natural drainage point. If it gets high enough, it will drain into the Sheyenne River, which flows into the Red River, then into Canada. But towns on the Sheyenne are screaming bloody murder, because they are afraid of being flooded some day. They already know where the natural outlet is. I believe the Corps of Engineers has a Let Nature Take It’s Course policy. The least they could do is build a spillway at the outlet so they don’t get erosion and a sudden dumping of the lake.
Unless there is a genuine economic justification for this expenditure. it appears to be a big waste of money by the railroad and the taxpayers. Just how did the BNSF sell the project internally as well as to several government entities?