Sounder train between Everett and Seattle canceled for Monday

Sounder train service between Everett and Seattle has been canceled for Monday after a mudslide on the BNSF Railway tracks halted all passenger traffic on the line.

A spokeswoman for Sound Transit said the agency is putting together an alternative plan to bus commuters back and forth Monday. It is possible that train service could resume as early as Tuesday morning, she said.

The mudslide, 2 feet deep and 20 feet long, happened at 10:50 a.m. Sunday about 13 miles north of Seattle, near Edmonds, said BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas. As a rule, passenger trains are always halted for 48 hours after a slide on the rail lines as a safety precaution.

Amtrak officials also plan to bus riders who are planning to take the train between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. through Tuesday morning. A spokesman said ticket-holders should come to the train station at the scheduled time of their train's departure, and they'll be bused to their destination.

Melonas said the BNSF tracks running through Western Washington have been closed by mudslides more than 20 times this winter. The number of closures is slightly higher than usual, but most of the slides have been small, Melonas said.