Four early morning mudslides between Mukilteo and Seattle shut down Sounder commuter rail service to more than 350 Seattle-bound commuters, said Lee Somerstein, a Sound Transit spokesman.
Amtrak service along that route also was interrupted.
Freight train service was not affected because in all four slides the outside, or Puget Sound side, track was not affected, said Gus Melonas, a spokesman for Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
No one was injured, and there was no damage to the tracks, Melonas said. The slides occurred after heavy rain fell Thursday and this morning.
All the mud and trees that washed onto the tracks was expected to be removed by noon today.
Federal rules require that all passenger rail service be suspended for 48 hours after a slide. Since the mudslides all occurred around 2 a.m., that means Sounder and Amtrak service cant resume until 1 a.m. Sunday.
Melonas said Sounder and Amtrak service will resume Monday morning if there are no more slides and if no damage is found.
Most Sounder commuters appeared to be alerted to the closure by listening to early morning traffic reports on radio or television, or by street ambassadors who went to stations in Everett and Edmonds to tell people that the trains would not run today.
We got the word out pretty well, Somerstein said, adding that he went on the air starting at 4:30 a.m.
Community Transit put extra buses into service this morning to get those affected to work, and the expectation is that more buses will be used to get Sounder commuters home late this afternoon.
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