Trains to and from St. Paul to Havre to resume operation

With repairs made to the tracks along the route, the national passenger rail service will resume full operation of the Empire Builder that runs through Havre starting next week.

Flooding in North Dakota shut down Amtrak's service between St. Paul, Minn., and Havre starting June 21.

The train continued to run from Seattle and Portland to Havre and back, but people looking to travel east along the route had to find alternate transportation. The Empire Builder, Amtrak's most popular long-distance train, continued to leave Chicago, but St. Paul was its westernmost stop on that route.

The Empire Builder's full service will begin Sunday with trains from the West Coast heading toward St. Paul, and trains leaving Chicago to head to Seattle and Portland, Ore., Monday.

The trains will make all stops between Havre and St. Paul except in Minot, where repairs still need to be made to allow access to the rail platform and station.

Amtrak General Superintendent Daryl Pesce said in a statement that no one from the passenger rail service can remember as much flooding and disruption of service in the train's history.