Rare News Desk
It took 37 hours, but an Amtrack Auto Train traveling from northern Virginia to Sanford, Fla., finally reached its destination. Or about one full day longer than scheduled.
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For more than half of that time, or 20 hours to be exact, the train with 563 passengers had been delayed in a wooded area in South Carolina. The delay was after a CSX freight train collided with a vehicle.
CSX released a statement about the incident to offer details. It read as follows:
“Just before 11:00 p.m. Monday, a CSX freight train came in contact with an unoccupied vehicle on the tracks at Charles Street in Lake City, SC resulting in the derailment of 25 rail cars and two locomotives, which remained upright. There were no injuries to the crew of the train and no hazardous materials involved. CSX crews are on site working to safely clear the tracks and restore the area.”
Passengers Stranded on Amtrak Train
Along with having to wait because of the accident, passengers also had to wait on a new crew to operate the train. The one that had been there at the time of the accident had timed out, and therefore, was no longer legally able to take the train to its final destination.
On the bright side, passengers were provided with meals and snacks to keep them occupied during what must have been an experience to test their patience. Much of the food was provided by local businesses, too.
That was a good thing, given that the train had been stocked with 1.5 meals per passenger. That’s enough food for a normal trip, but there was hardly anything regular about this one.
Per ABC7 News, “The Auto Train is a unique train in that all passengers must also bring their car with them on the train. One train leaves each day from Florida and one from the D.C. area. Many passengers book little rooms with chairs that fold into beds and others book traditional seats.”
So it’s easy to feel especially sorry for those who were only in traditional seats … for 37 painful hours.
