The Empire Builder is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northern Railway and was retained by Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.
The end-to-end travel time of the route is 45–46 hours for an average speed of about , though the train travels as fast as over the majority of the route. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route.
During fiscal year 2023, the Empire Builder carried 338,993 passengers, an increase of 15.0% from FY2022 but 21.8% below pre-COVID-19 levels (433,372 passengers during FY2019). During FY2022, the train had a total revenue of $49,600,000.
History
The Great Northern Railway inaugurated the Empire Builder on June 10, 1929. It was named in honor of the company's founder, James J. Hill, who had reorganized several failing railroads into the only successful attempt at a privately funded transcontinental railroad. It reached the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century, and for this feat, he was nicknamed "The Empire Builder". Following World War II, Great Northern placed new streamlined and diesel-powered trains in service that cut the scheduled 2,211-mile trip between Chicago and Seattle from 58.5 hours to 45 hours.
The schedule allowed riders views of the Cascade Mountains and Glacier National Park, a park established through the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. Re-equipped with domes in 1955, the Empire Builder offered passengers sweeping views of the route through three dome coaches and one full-length Great Dome car for first class passengers.
In March 1970, the Great Northern, along with three other closely affiliated railroads (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Northern Pacific and Spokane, Portland & Seattle) merged to form Burlington Northern. BN took over operations of both the Builder and its companion train, the Western Star, as well as the North Coast Limited, which ran between the Twin Cities and Spokane on the former NP’s parallel route through Bismarck, Mandan, Billings, Bozeman, Missoula, and Helena. BN transferred the operation of its long-distance trains to Amtrak when the company took over most of the intercity routes in May 1971.
When Amtrak took over operations of the BN services, it chose to continue running the Builder. The company based this decision on several factors, including the overall higher speed of the ex-GN route and better alternate transportation options along the ex-NP route, although the decision to retain only one of the two existing services that ran through the state of Montana sparked outrage among many politicians and the general public in the south of the Big Sky country.
To improve its farebox recovery ratio, Amtrak rerouted the Chicago–St. Paul leg to run through Milwaukee via the Milwaukee Road. Before 1971, the Chicago–St. Paul leg used the CB&Q's mainline along the Mississippi River through Wisconsin. The service also used to operate west from the Twin Cities before turning northwest in Willmar, to reach Fargo. When Amtrak assumed operation of the service, it also rerouted the Builder over the route between Fargo and Minot via Grand Forks, which until that time was covered by the Builder's companion service, the Western Star.BN cancelled operation of the Western Star train on the same day it turned over operations to Amtrak, and the company, to avoid the loss of the Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby stops, rerouted the Builder via Grand Forks to continue service to those stops. While the Builder running through the direct route between Fargo and Minot, the Western Star continued from Fargo north to Grand Forks, where it turning west to reach Minot.
In the summer of 1974, to coincide with the Expo '74 held in Spokane, Amtrak added a third service, the Expo '74, to complement the Builder and North Coast Hiawatha on the segment between Spokane and Seattle. This was the only time Amtrak provided a three-times-daily service on a long-distance route outside the Silver corridor (New York to Florida), the highest level seen since Amtrak's formation and unmatched since. Amtrak protested to BN about the long travel times between Spokane and Seattle, claiming that its three services could cover the route in 7.5 hours, compared to the 8.5 hours it took at the time. Privately, Amtrak engineers thought the trip could be done in less than 5 hours.
Between June 1971 and October 1979, on the parallel route ex Northern Pacific between the Twin Cities and Spokane via Staples, Fargo, Bismarck, Missoula and Helena run the North Coast Hiawatha, descendant of NP's flagship service, the North Coast Limited, which also served stops such as St. Cloud, Staples and Detroit Lakes. as mentioned in Between Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul, and between Spokane and Seattle, the North Coast Hiawatha run combined with the Builder three days a week. The joint operation of the Builder and the North Coast Hiawatha was suspended on June 11, 1973, when Amtrak decided that both services should run separately again. This created two daily services between Spokane and Seattle. The North Coast Hiawatha remained on a tri-weekly schedule west of the Twin Cities.
When Amtrak cancelled the North Coast Hiawatha, it rerouted the Builder over the ex-NP mainline between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Fargo to continue to serve St. Cloud, Staples and Detroit Lakes, which otherwise would have lost service with the cancellation of the North Coast Hiawatha. However, the rerouting of the Builder from the GN mainline to the NP mainline however resulted in the loss of the stops at Willmar, Breckenridge and Morris.
In October 1979, the Builder was the first of Amtrak's western long-distance services to receive the new Superliner I cars built by Pullman-Standard. Due to the harsh winter weather of the Upper Midwest plains, and the mountainous areas of Montana, Idaho and Washington, with blizzards and cold temperatures, traditional steam-heated equipment frequently broke down, often forcing Amtrak to cancel service. The Superliners, with their electrical head-end power, were far better suited for the conditions. Amtrak's new national timetable depicted a Superliner coach on the front cover, and the listing for the Empire Builder carried a heading which read "Amtrak's Superliner is Special."
Amtrak added a Portland section in 1981, with the train splitting in Spokane. This restored service to the line previously operated by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. It was not the first time that the train had operated Seattle and Portland sections; Great Northern had split the Builder in Spokane for much of the 1940s and 1950s.May 4, 1947, Great Northern timetable http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/empbuilder194706.html June 10, 1956, Great Northern timetable http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track7/empbuilder195607.html
In 2005, Amtrak upgraded service to include a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car for sleeping car passengers and free newspapers in the morning. Amtrak's inspector general eliminated some of these services in 2013 as part of a cost-saving measure.
During summer months, on portions of the route, "Trails and Rails" volunteer tour guides in the lounge car give commentary on points of visual and historic interest that can be viewed from the train.
After running daily for the better part of a century, the Empire Builder was cut back to tri-weekly operation along with most of Amtrak's other long-distance routes on October12, 2020, as part of a round of service reductions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of the fall and winter of 2020–21, trains departed Chicago on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and departed Seattle or Portland on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. However, in March 2021, Amtrak announced the train would return to its pre-pandemic daily schedule on May24, 2021.
Notable incidents
On May27, 1931, the eastbound Empire Builder was struck by a tornado in Clay County, Minnesota. The train, carrying 117 passengers, had all of its cars, minus the locomotive and coal tender, thrown off the tracks by the tornado, with one car being thrown off the track. One passenger died, with 57 others injured.
Due to heavy patronage during World War II the Empire Builder ran in two sections, known as First 1 and Second 1. On August 9, 1945, at Michigan, North Dakota, First 1 was stopped to address an overheated journal. It was struck from behind by Second 1 at a speed of 45 mph. The rear car of First 1, a “bobtail” – part observation car and part sleeping berths, was telescoped along practically its entire length by the engine of Second 1, and was demolished. It remains the worst rail disaster in both North Dakota and Great Northern Railway history.GN S-2 Class Thirty-four passengers died and 303 were injured.ICC Investigation No.2921
On March 7, 1966, the eastbound Empire Builder collided head-on with the Western Star mail and passenger train going in the opposite direction. This occurred between Chester, Montana and Joplin, Montana, at the west end of the Buelow siding, while Great Northern's then-president John M. Budd was aboard. The two engineers both died in the collision and 79 were injured; 29 of those were hospitalized in what came to be known at the Great Northern Buelow wreck.
The westbound Empire Builder derailed between Joplin, Montana and Chester, Montana (at the east end of the Buelow siding) on September25, 2021, with three fatalities. The train was at the east end of Buelow siding.Schmidt, Brian - Amtrak confirms three fatalities in Montana derailment Trains Magazine, September 26, 2021
Ridership The Empire Builder is Amtrak's most popular long-distance train. Over fiscal years 2007–2016, Empire Builder annual ridership averaged 500,000, with a high of 554,266 in FY 2008. Revenue peaked in FY 2013 at $67,394,779. About 65% of the cost of operating the train is covered by fare revenue, a rate among Amtrak's long-distance trains second only to the specialized East Coast Auto Train.
+ Traffic by Fiscal Year (October–September) Ridership Change over previous year Ticket Revenue Change over previous year 2007504,977 - $53,177,760 -2008554,266 9.76% $59,461,168 11.81%2009515,444 7.0% $54,064,861 9.07%2010533,493 3.5% $58,497,143 8.19%2011469,167 12.05% $53,773,711 8.07%2012543,072 15.75% $66,655,153 23.95%2013536,391 1.23% $67,394,779 1.1%2014450,932 15.93% $54,545,844 19.06%2015438,376 2.78% $50,541,140 7.34%2016454,625 3.7% $51,798,583 2.48%2017454,000 0.13% $59,000,000 13.9%2018428,854 5.53% $57,600,000 2.37%2019433,372 1.05% $57,500,000 0.17%2020253,486 41.5% $32,400,000 43.65%2021220,68112.94%$38,400,00018.52%2022303,56837.56%$49,600,00029.17%2023348,99315%$61,100,00023.19%2024387,95311.2%$63,700,0004.26%
Route
The current Amtrak Empire Builder passes through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. It makes service stops in Spokane, Washington; Havre, Montana; Minot, North Dakota; and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Its other major stops include Vancouver, Washington; Whitefish, Montana; Williston, North Dakota; Fargo, North Dakota; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It uses BNSF Railway's Northern Transcon from Seattle to Minneapolis, Minnesota Commercial Railway from Minneapolis to St. Paul, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (former Milwaukee Road) from St. Paul to Rondout, Illinois, and Metra's Milwaukee District North Line (former Milwaukee Road) from Rondout to Chicago. The St. Paul to Chicago portion currently follows the route of the former Twin Cities Hiawatha, and beginning in May 2024 has been supplemented by the Borealis. In pre-Amtrak days it used the Twin Zephyrs routing.