Amtrak Train Stuck For 13 Hours

The eastbound train on the Empire Builder Line between the Pacific Northwest and Chicago was to leave Minot late Tuesday but was delayed seven hours by the storm.

RUGBY, N.D. (AP) – An Amtrak passenger train with 111 people aboard got stuck for nearly 13 hours in northern North Dakota after a blizzard blocked the tracks with snow.

The eastbound train on the Empire Builder Line between the Pacific Northwest and Chicago was to leave Minot late Tuesday but was delayed seven hours by the storm.

The train departed about 6 a.m. Wednesday but got stuck an hour later in a snowbank near Rugby that was 25 feet high and 200 feet long.

Officials brought in heavy equipment to clear the tracks. The train was freed and went on its way about 6:45 p.m.