An Amtrak train on its way to Boston found itself stuck in the middle of their trip last week. Ultimately, the Amtrak train was stuck in the Bronx during the night for four hours with no heat onboard. This problem was caused by the falling of overhead wires.
The Amtrak train was in the middle of traveling from Washington, DC to South Station in Boston when the issue regarding the overhead wires occurred. The issue occurred at 3 a.m. with almost 200 passengers on board.
The passengers began to worry when after the issue occurred there was “very little communication on behalf of the Amtrak crew.” Also, as a result of the overhead wires falling, the train’s bathroom and heating systems were nonfunctional. The train stayed in this condition for over four hours. During which time, many passengers began to complain because of delay, which would delay their scheduled appointments or travel plans. Passengers also brought to light that the crew was not equipped with proper resources for such a situation, there were no blankets to help stay warm and no additional water for those in need.
All and all, the power shortage lasted approximately four hours and train’s power was restored and allowed to continue traveling a short time after 7 a.m.
Amtrak is aware of their inadequacy and expressed this in a statement made on Friday by Amtrak Chief Operations Officer Scot Naparstek. He explained in his statement, “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.” Amtrak also apologized, via Twitter, to passengers that tweeted their complaints regarding this issue.