Flooding in southeast Iowa has forced some detours for both trains and automobiles today. Marc Magliari, a spokesperson for Amtrak, says this morning’s eastbound California Zephyr took a detour through northern Iowa on Union Pacific Railroads lines because of flooding between Burlington and Ottumwa.
The Zephyr normally operates on a B-N-S-F line along U.S. Highway 34. Chartered motorcoaches traced the Amtrak route to pick up passengers who planned to take the train. Magliari expects service will return to normal soon, but trains could be delayed by track repairs.
“We do expect to operate normally tonight westbound with the California Zephyr,” Magliari said. “So, those stops that were missed this morning and picked up by motorcoaches – we’ll make those stops tonight on the California Zephyr.” Flooding has also forced the Iowa D.O.T. to close Lee County Road X-32 near Fort Madison.