Tunnel collapse forces Amtrak to cancel Coast Starlight trains through central Oregon

UPDATE:This story has been updated to reflect changes in dates and the cancellation of bus service through the Oregon Cascades.

Amtrak's Coast Startlight train still leaves from Tacoma every day, but it's not going all the way to Los Angeles.

A May 29 tunnel collapse in Oregon forced the national rail corporation to first bus its passengers between Eugene and Klamath Falls, Oregon.

On Wednesday Amtrak canceled the bus service, leaving no transportation to California.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said on Thursday that service should resume when Union Pacific finishes repairs to the tunnel. Tickets on Amtrak's website are available beginning June 25.

As of Thursday morning, repairs should be finished by June 23, said Union Pacific spokesman Justin Jacobs.

"That is subject to change as crews dig that out," Jacobs said.

Jacobs said several hundred feet of rock and steel liner fell from the tunnel’s ceiling onto tracks during maintenance work. No one was injured. The tunnel is located between Oakridge and Odell Lake near Highway 58.

The reopening of the tunnel in the remote location has been pushed back several times.

"As we get in there, it’s a little more severe than what we thought," Jacobs said.

According to Amtrak's ticket website, Coast Starlight trains from Seattle to Eugene have been canceled through Jun 24.

Since late May train passengers taking the Starlight to Eugene were then bused to Klamath Falls. There they reboarded an Amtrak train for California. Northbound passengers made the same trip in reverse.

That ended on Wednesday.

"It is simply not sustainable to take people overnight on chartered buses," Magliari said Thursday.

Amtrak Cascades, a separate service, is fully operational on its routes between Vancouver, B.C. and Eugene.

This story was originally published June 13, 2018 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Tunnel collapse forces Amtrak to cancel Coast Starlight trains through central Oregon."