St. Cloud Amtrak Service to Restart Next Week

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Amtrak plans to restore its full route between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest next week. That includes service to St. Cloud and points northwest.

Amtrak suspended service on its Empire Builder line between St. Paul, Minn., and Havre, Mont., in late June because of flooding in North Dakota. Officials say track repairs have been made by BNSF Railway, which owns the track the Amtrak passenger trains run on.

The Empire Builder will resume making stops in eastern Montana, North Dakota and western Minnesota with trains departing from Seattle and Portland, Ore., on Sunday. Westbound trains will resume service to the full route starting with trains departing Chicago on Monday.

The only exception is in the North Dakota city of Minot, which has been devastated by Souris River flooding. That station will remain closed until repairs can be made.

Empire Builder stops in St. Cloud twice a day -- once a day in each direction.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
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