‘This is hell, and it’s getting worse:’ 183 people stuck on Amtrak stranded since Sunday

Update

The California-bound Amtrak train that was stuck in Oregon for over 35 hours is heading back to Seattle, according to Amtrak. The train first departed Seattle on Sunday.

“Due to weather conditions, additional delays are to be expected along the route,” Amtrak tweeted at 9:20 a.m. CT.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Amtrak said it will work with customers to “provide refunds and other compensation as appropriate.” Food, heat, electricity and toilets were provided to the stranded passengers, according to the statement.

Original story

It has been more than 35 hours since an Amtrak train headed from Seattle to Los Angeles got stuck in snowy Oregon, KOIN reported.

While stopped, 183 people are aboard Coast Starlight train 11, according to the Portland TV station. They’ve all been stranded on the train since it “struck a tree that had fallen onto the tracks at approximately 6:18 p.m.” Sunday, Amtrak said, according to KTVL in Oakridge, where the train is stuck.

“Due to worsening conditions, area road closures and no viable way to safely transport passengers or crews via alternate transportation, Amtrak Coast Starlight Train 11 stopped in Oakridge, Oregon,” Amtrak said, according to KTVL. “We are actively working with Union Pacific to clear the right of way and get passengers off the train.”

But 35 hours have passed since the Amtrak stopped, and one exhausted passenger has been providing updates on Facebook. She says she is one of the few on the train with cell service.

“This is hell, and it’s getting worse,” Rebekah Dodson wrote at the 30-hour mark. “Today has been crazy...running up and down stairs for 18 news interviews on our plight, lending people my phone, one of the few with service, helping people out of panic attacks and chasing down toddlers.”

Passenger Carly Bigby said the train’s snack cart has run out and parents are running out of diapers for their babies, KOIN reported.

“A lot of the (older) kids have been really good, but they’re having to run up and down and it’s a lot,” she said, according to KOIN. “Especially the food — it’s not really food they’re liking. Moms are doing all they can right now.”

In a tweet, Amtrak said: “Passengers on this Train are not being charged for food or water. We are doing everything in our power to make sure they are comfortable.”

Bigby told ABC News that the train doesn’t carry baby formula or diapers, though, so they’re “kind of just making do with what we have.”

It hasn’t been all bad, though.

“People are restless but in good spirits,” Dodson said, according to ABC News.

She wrote on Facebook that the stranded people are forming friendships.

“Strangers are playing cards,” she said, according to CNN. “A teenager played his ukulele to kids to get them to sleep. Ladies who have never met before were dancing in aisles.”

In a statement provided to KTVL, Union Pacific wrote that “Amtrak has made the decision to keep the passengers on the train because power is out in the city. Also, with only two small hotels in town they don’t want to separate the passengers prior to having them re-board for departure.”

The Weather Channel reported that Winter Storm Ryan has “closed roads and triggered avalanches in the Pacific Northwest. There were more than 49,000 Oregon power outages as of Tuesday morning., according to PowerOutageUS.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 6:38 AM with the headline "‘This is hell, and it’s getting worse:’ 183 people stuck on Amtrak stranded since Sunday."