Amtrak resumes runs after rail fix

Amtrak trains are running again between Arkadelphia and Texarkana, Texas now that tracks damaged by weekend flooding have been repaired, an Amtrak spokesman said.

A section of track owned by Union Pacific closed Saturday from Arkadelphia to Texarkana. Jeff DeGraff, Union Pacific spokesman, said heavy rains swept away parts of the track and the trains had to be rerouted.

The track reopened at 6:40 a.m. Sunday, although trains continued to be rerouted because of congestion on some Amtrak routes, DeGraff said.

"We should be back to normal operations by tomorrow," he said.

More than 150 passengers waited for charter buses Saturday at the Little Rock Amtrak station, after the company's southbound passenger train, the Texas Eagle, was halted because of the damaged track.

From Friday to Saturday night, Prescott and surrounding areas received 12 to 14 inches of rain, said Joe Goudsward of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

The National Weather Service in Shreveport issued a flash flood warning Saturday for Miller, Little River, Nevada, Lafayette, Columbia and Hempstead counties in southwestern Arkansas. The weather service said runoff on roads may continue to be a problem for the next few days.

Scattered showers dropping an additional 1 or 2 inches are predicted for the area over the next few days, but "nothing with the same intensity" as Friday's storm, Goudsward said.

State Desk on 07/06/2015

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