Amtrak Apologizes After Overhead Wire Problems Stalled Train For Hours In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of Amtrak riders were stranded for hours in frigid temperatures when an overhead wire problem stalled their train early Friday morning in the Bronx.
Amtrak said Northeast Regional Train 66, which originated in Washington, D.C. on its way to Boston, lost power due to downed overhead wires and suddenly stopped in the Bronx around 3 a.m. with about 160 passengers on board.
As CBS2's Erin Logan reported, passengers were fit to be tied.
"It's freezing cold, the bathrooms aren't working, there's no power and there's very little communication on behalf of the Amtrak crew to let us know what's happening, when it's happening, when we can expect to leave and it's really, really cold," passenger Brenda Shipley told WCBS 880. "We've been sitting out here for four hours with no heat."
Shipley said passengers were also left without access to food or water. She said passengers were stuck in the situation for more than four hours.
Shipley added that the crew "basically hid" from passengers.
"We all understand mechanical problems happen but they have mishandled things from a customer service perspective, a mechanical perspective and they should've done something," she said.
The railroad said power was restored to the train around 7:10 a.m. and said the train was moving again around 7:30 a.m. But the only made it a short distance to New Rochelle, where the 160 passengers were told to get off.
"We were out there for 30 minutes," Shipley said.
She said passengers were once again left out on the platform with little information. They finally boarded a new train, and some passengers were relieved, but others were miserable.
"There were people there that had scheduled medical appointments at Dana-Farber (Cancer Institute), flights, there were people going to funerals -- and there was just no consideration whatsoever," Shipley said.
Shipley said passengers quickly bonded in the midst of frustration.
"Humor has helped us," she said. "People are snoozing a lot, but a lot of people are anxious because they're going to miss flights in Boston, medical appointments in Boston, but humor has helped. We are freezing."
And once Shipley got off the train here in New Haven, she was all smiles. But such was not the case for other passengers -- their day got worse. They realized they had no luggage.
"Amtrak personnel were then scurrying around saying, 'Where are the bags? All right, somebody had to go to Train 66, wherever it was, and get the bags off the train,'" Shipley said.
With no bags I hand, passengers arriving later in Boston said the whole trip was a disaster -- reiterating the lack of help from the crew.
"Zero, zero response," said Kirk Butler.
"I've never been more happy to be back here in my entire life," said Jen Schumacher. "I'm not leaving for a long time."
Shipley said Amtrak could have done a great deal differently.
"Oh gosh, so much, so much, so much" she said, "First of all, just basic customer service -- taking care of passenger safety, giving us updates, letting us know what's going on."
Amtrak Chief Operations Officer Scot Naparstek issued a statement later Friday, saying: "We want to sincerely apologize to our customers on Train 66, which lost power due to downed overhead wires early this morning for several hours near New York City en route to Boston."
"Today we fell short of providing the outstanding service that customers should expect from Amtrak, and we are sorry for the delay and the significant inconvenience, including the loss of heat onboard," Naparstek said. "We also regret that some passengers did not receive adequate information about the situation while we worked to fix the problems."
But Shipley said passengers deserve a full refund. CBS2 reached out to Amtrak to see if the passengers will get a refund, but had not received a response as of 5 p.m.