Amtrak passengers held up by avalanche transported to Spokane by bus

Amtrak passengers stuck behind an avalanche that covered the BNSF Railway track in the Marias Pass in Northwestern Montana have been returned to their city of origin or bused to their destination, according to an Amtrak spokesman.

A train heading west to Spokane on Monday had reached Browning, Montana, before retracing its route back as far as Shelby, Montana. The passengers were sent to Spokane via chartered bus Tuesday afternoon, said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari. An eastbound train on its way to Chicago was sent back to Spokane and a westbound train in Minot, North Dakota, was sent back to Chicago.

Passengers on the train in Minot were housed in hotels while the passengers on the other trains stayed on board and were given free meals in the dining car, Magliari said.

“We have apologized profusely to our passengers,” he said. “It is February in the mountains.”

Amtrak will wait until the tracks have been cleared and repaired if needed before resuming service.

“The soonest we could possibly operate would be Thursday or Friday,” Magliari said.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said crews are removing the snow as fast as they can and will be checking for track damage.

About 40 trains a day use the section of track that is shut down, Melonas said. “We were, fortunately, able to detour some traffic via the Montana Rail Link.”

Melonas said BNSF hopes to complete the snow removal by midnight Tuesday.