By John Stark
A BNSF Railway Co. coal train with a brake problem stalled in Mount Vernon today, blocking several crossings for over 45 minutes.
The Skagit Valley Herald reports.
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Timing is EVERYTHING. Can’t wait to read THOSE comments.
John what do you think about the increased rail traffic that will occur if the GPT is approved? How long will it take for a coal train to clear a crossing? How much gas will be consumed by an average sized car while waiting for a coal train to cross?
http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/stalled-train-snarls-traffic-in-mv/article_0bb21396-2d40-5c78-b045-d53bc362f09f.html
“All Mount Vernon buses are stalled due to trains.” And everyone else….
From the Skagit Valley Herald, “one of the terminal supporters was stuck there”. Doesn’t SSA usually provide a hospitality tent with warm beverages when their supporters have to wait somewhere?
(drum flourish) @Wahtoyah, best. comment. ever.
And the hits just keep on coming. Today’s “oops” moment:
http://www.cknw.com/news/vancouver/story.aspx?ID=1836424
I road Amtrak on my return trip from Portland over the holidays.
There had been a problem with either the rails or rail traffic; none of the Amtrak employees could provide details but we were told that there had been a mudslide.
All the passengers had to get off the train in Seattle, where Amtrak had lined up buses to take us to Mt. Vernon, where we caught another train back to Bellingham.
I know that freight trains have the right of way on the rails, and I’ve wondered how riding Amtrak would be affected by the length and frequency of the coal trains.
I also don’t understand how BNSF plans to share the railways with Amtrak because there are only two tracks for the trains to ride in Bellingham, except for the bridge where there is only one.
Are there any plans to add more tracks to support the coal trains?
I wonder when the B’Ham Herald is going to run a story on the coal-vessel loading incident in Westshore BC yesterday? Seems kinda related and relevant to local events.
I figure that a since a business story about China and Canada got space today (below), a more local story would too.
BEIJING — China’s state-owned CNOOC said on Saturday that it is delighted that the Canadian Ministry of Industry has approved its $15.1 billion proposed takeover of Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen.
Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/12/08/2795916/chinas-cnooc-lauds-canadian-approval.html#storylink=cpy
John — Are you going to cover it? When?
So, build bridges, overpasses, or whatever it takes to fix the traffic problem if there is a traffic problem and get on with life. Trains have always been a remarkably efficient form of transportation.