Amtrak train with nearly 200 passengers finally arrives after being stranded for more than 30 hours in Oregon
An Amtrak train is stranded after striking a tree in snowy conditions on February 24th. The train was headed from Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, California, when the incident happened, leaving the train at a standstill in the small town of Oakridge, Oregon. Some people have been on the train for more than 50 hours and food is becoming scarce.
Nearly 200 people finally arrived at Oregon Station on Tuesday after being stranded more than 36 hours on an Amtrak train in rural Oregon after the train struck a downed tree on Sunday.
The Los Angeles-bound train had left Seattle shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday with 183 passengers on board, but got stuck near the town of Oakridge, about 45 miles south of Eugene, an Amtrak spokesman told OregonLive.
A storm impacted the northwestern United States since Sunday with heavy snow causing numerous downed trees and power lines. A foot of snow was reported at Eugene Airport on Monday, breaking the previous daily record of 6.7 inches on Feb. 7, 2014.
(Image/ABC News)
Union Pacific, which owns the rail lines, helped clear a path to the train. Passengers were kept on board because the train had power and nearby towns did not, Tim McMahan, a Union Pacific spokesman, said.
Once the passengers were clear to exit, they were taken back to Eugene and then Portland, he told OregonLive.
(Facebook photo/Rebekah Dodson)
Rebekah Dodson, a passenger on the train, told CNN Tuesday that the train began moving back towards Eugene.
“Everyone is cheering because we are on our way back to Eugene now!” she said.
Dodson later shared a Facebook live video as the train was moving.
Amtrak said on Twitter that the train was headed back to Seattle, but additional weather delays were possible. McMahan told CNN that a Union Pacific locomotive was pulling the stranded train.
No injuries have been reported.
The storm train centered on Northern California will fluctuate enough to bring more snow to much of Oregon at midweek. Snow is forecast to reach as far to the north as Portland, but marginal temperatures may limit accumulations along the Oregon coast with the next storm, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Amtrak said it was making sure passengers on board the train would not be charged for food and beverages and was doing everything it could to make the customers comfortable.
Some passengers had to create makeshift diapers for mothers with young children, according to ABC news.
Passengers with pets on board were able to go outside periodically, but others had to remain on board with the windows closed, OregonLive said.
Despite the nightmarish ordeal, passengers were reportedly telling loved ones that they are okay.
Dodson told CNN that the Amtrak staff has been "wonderful and accommodating" and morale on the train has been "OK."
Treacherous travel conditions persisted elsewhere in the state. A large avalanche shutdown a stretch of U.S. Highway 20 about 2 miles west of Santiam Pass, the Oregon Department of Transportation said. Officials said later Monday that the road had been reopened, but motorists should use caution when driving.
Highway 58 was closed between Lowell and Oakridge after more than 100 fallen trees needed to be cleared, state officials told the Associated Press.
Redmond police Sgt. Al Fraker said police vehicles and ambulances were getting stuck due to heavy snow, causing “extremely difficult response times and limited access," according to the AP.
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