A rock slide apparently caused by heavy rains on the Kenai Peninsula covered the tracks outside of Seward this morning, prompting the Alaska Railroad to suspend its train services south to Seward on Wednesday, the railroad said in a statement.

The extent of damage from the slide, which took place near Divide at railroad mile 11, was not immediately known. The railroad had crews on the scene this evening, railroad spokeswoman Wendy Lindskoog said.

The obstruction was discovered about 11 a.m. today, as a passenger train approaching Seward was forced to stop, she said. The passengers were off-loaded and shuttled the rest of the way on their trip.

The track will remain closed while crews prepare to clear it and to assess the potential for further slides, Lindskoog said. It was not known how long that would take.

Passengers scheduled to be transported Wednesday aboard the daily Coastal Classic train from Anchorage to Seward will be bused instead. The bus will leave from the Ship Creek Historic Depot at 6:45 a.m.

Linkskoog said service bussing would continue through Friday.

The Glacier Discovery train between Anchorage, Whittier, Portage and Grandview was not affected. Lindskoog said she didn't think any freight trains had been impacted today either.

For more information on train schedules, call (907) 265-2494 or 1-800-544-0552.