" in the US there is virtually NO mass transit worthy of the name."

Tell that to the thousands of people who take a bus, train or airplane somewhere every year.
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Mg is beating her head against a wall. The Pacific Northwest is made up of volcanic and sedimentary rock which was pressed onto the old North America as it moved west, pushed by spreading in the Atlantic. The Pacific Northwest has huge areas of broken, deformed, tilted and unstable land.

When rock and mud get wet and slide onto the tracks, there are all sorts of concerns.

how far is the nearest earth-moving equipment

where can they go with the debris

is it just mud, or does it include huge rocks

is there anybody buried under there

has it stopped moving, or will removing debris trigger another slide

are the tracks under the slide damaged?
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You can't expect immediate answers to all that.

(Remember the recent slide in Colorado that killed three men sent out to investigate it? Slides can be dangerous.)