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RUGBY, N.D. (AP) — An Amtrak passenger train with more than a hundred people on board 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 it was delayed seven hours by the storm.
"We have reached out to emergency responders only as a precaution," Marc Magliari, a spokesman for Amtrak in Chicago, said on Wednesday. "BNSF is working to remove the snow that is temporarily preventing us from continuing east, and we appreciate their assistance."
The train left Minot at 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, the Minot Daily News (http://bit.ly/2mpar2J ) reported.
Two additional train engines were later brought in to try to move the train.
"It is BNSF's track that Amtrak operates on in North Dakota," said Amy McBeth, a BNSF spokeswoman. "Our crews have been working to clear the snow around the train and help get them moving again."
After the train engines were unsuccessful, officials brought in heavy equipment to clear the tracks. The train was freed and went on its way at about 6:45 p.m.
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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com
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