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Winter storm traps Amtrak passengers on train for more than 40 hours

LYNCHBURG, Va. — An Amtrak train en route to New York from New Orleans remained idled just north of Lynchburg, Virginia, Tuesday afternoon, turning a day trip into a 40-hour nightmare for some passengers.

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WSB-TV spoke with at least one passenger on the train whose account of the conditions encountered as a winter storm pounded the Mid-Atlantic states conflicted directly with company statements.

A spokesperson with the city of Lynchburg told WDBJ that the passenger train had been slated to leave the city Monday but another train encountered downed power lines and trees on the tracks north of Nelson County. In turn, the passenger train was forced to reverse course and return to Lynchburg at around 5 p.m. Monday.

The train has about 220 passengers and six crew members, “who are all warm, fed, and safe,” the spokesperson told WDBJ, noting that Amtrak is providing food and beverages for everyone on the train.

Sean Thornton, of Richmond, Virginia, told WSB-TV, however, that not only has he been on the train since boarding in Atlanta more than 40 hours earlier but inconveniences created by the snafu range from overflowing toilets and running out of food to lack of communication from Amtrak’s leadership regarding the train’s status.

Thornton told WSB-TV that he was slated to arrive in Charlottesville, West Virginia, at around 11:30 a.m. Monday, but the train did not arrive in Atlanta until 2 a.m., several hours behind schedule before he ever boarded, and that forward progress sputtered off and on throughout the day Monday.

“As the train continued to stop on its tracks … we continued not to be told anything by Amtrak,” Thornton told the TV station. “We eventually stopped moving … last night. We were in a no reception zone for cell phone service and train Wi-Fi. As a result, nobody could communicate with loved ones or hotels during the evening.”

At around 5 p.m. Monday, an Amtrak employee made an announcement that the train had run out of food, and Thornton said he began to hear murmurs about toilets backing up in the main cabin.

“At some point during the evening a very irate female staff member got on the PA system and basically yelled at everybody to stop complaining to staff and to just call Amtrak headquarters to complain instead. She indicated that the staff also had complaints and that the staff would appreciate customers telling management about their experience. It was pretty shocking,” Thornton told WSB-TV.

He then confirmed that at around midnight the train was slowly moved backward behind the Lynchburg train station and has not moved since.

“Passengers weren’t told that they would be staying in the train for the night. We all just sort of sat up waiting to hear what they would be doing with us and fell asleep wherever we were. This morning we still have not heard anything,” Thornton told the TV station.

The only refreshments received, he said, were when a passenger arranged for someone to bring water to the train late Monday and when another passenger “obtained a bunch of McDonalds and passed that around the train.”

In a statement, Amtrak told WSB-TV that the train remained stopped due to “ongoing weather conditions.”

“Once the tracks are clear, service will resume en route to New York. Our staff is working to make sure food and water is available for customers,” Amtrak continued.

Meanwhile, Amtrak’s website indicates no trains are scheduled to leave the Lynchburg station until Wednesday morning, WDBJ reported.