Roseville trains rerouted after trestle burns

Some train commuters will be busing it for at least the next two weeks after a railroad trestle in Sacramento caught fire last Thursday, railroad officials said.Amtrak and Union Pacific trains are experiencing delays but operations are running. The fire near Cal Expo in Sacramento broke out Thursday and destroyed about 1,100 feet of the 2,500-foot trestle used by Union Pacific.The 2,000-foot-high plume of black smoke from the burning creosote-coated timbers could be seen from Roseville and other parts of Placer County, but air-pollution officials said the wind's direction moved the polluted air away from the foothills.Amtrak's Zephyr line between the Bay Area and Chicago will be rerouted from Roseville, said company spokesperson Vernae Graham. The westbound Zephyr that departed Chicago March 13 arrived Friday in Roseville, and passengers were bused to the Bay Area, Graham said. A 90-mile Sacramento-Marysville-Roseville detour was set up by Friday.About 130 passengers were stranded last Thursday on a train in Roseville for five hours."Any freight and passenger trains that do need to come into Roseville to be sorted, we're telling customers up to 24 hours of delay," said Union Pacific spokesperson Mark Davis. "The fortunate thing in this case, the average of 50 that go over that line are able to continue their operation," Davis added.More than 150 firefighters responded to the trestle blaze next to the American River that started about 5:40 p.m. Thursday, Capt. Jim Doucette of the Sacrament City Fire Department said. Representatives from the California State Department of Fish & Game also responded to monitor the water runoff from the fire. There was no evidence of toxics entering into the American River Thursday, Doucette said. Officials said cause of the fire is under investigation. The trestle collapsed in sections starting about 9 p.m. Thursday, Doucette said.Firefighters turned the scene over to Union Pacific Friday night, company spokesperson Davis said. UP said one track will be open March 30 with construction happening "around the clock."About 145 riders make the Sacramento-Auburn trip daily, with 45 using the Auburn station, 50 in Rocklin and 50 in Roseville.Capitol Corridor transportation officer Carl Malvo said, in the short-term, Sacramento to Auburn riders will take a motor coach on the morning ride to Sacramento and the evening return trip.While Malvo said there was no way of knowing how long the bus service would be in place, Capitol Corridor officials are confident ridership won't drop off once the trestle is rebuilt and the train starts running again. He couldn't recall a similar loss of rail service during nearly a decade of Capitol Corridor train service."Our customers are loyal," Malvo said. "We believe they'll continue to support and patronize the service during the disruption. We'll do what we can to make the best of the situation."The Placer County Air Pollution Control District found readings on fine particulate matter were at normal levels overnight Thursday and into Friday, pollution control officer Ushuo Chang said. Readings were from Roseville and Meadow Vista.