![]() The federally chartered passenger rail operator tallied more than 450 disruptions from climate shocks between 20, costing the company $127 million in revenue from 1.3 million lost customers. In the past couple of years, wildfires, coastal erosion, heat waves, and mudslides have closed or altered routes around the country for days, weeks, or months at a time. Courtesy of Andrew Baderįor Amtrak riders, canceled trains have become a familiar side effect of the extreme weather fueled by climate change. Earlier this year, historic flooding in California disrupted the Coast Starlight again, for nearly a month, along with other Amtrak routes in the Golden State. “You just feel incredibly frustrated that you’ll never have an opportunity to do those things again,” he said.Īndrew Bader’s son looks out the window of their Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train car. Bader lamented the opportunity he’d lost because of the wildfire. Instead of a new family tradition, the trip turned out to be a memorial. But Bader’s father wasn’t with them - he’d passed away from cancer just a few weeks earlier. In July 2022, Bader and his son finally got to make the trip they’d planned more than a year earlier. Amtrak canceled some trains altogether, while other trips were altered so that passengers transferred to a bus for a portion of the route. When he got a refund for his canceled tickets, Bader remembers wondering, “Is this something we’re going to have to worry about every summer?” The Coast Starlight, one of Amtrak’s most scenic routes, was disrupted for a month as the bridge was repaired. But in early July, he found out that a wildfire had damaged a bridge on the train’s path, interrupting the Coast Starlight route. Courtesy of Andrew Baderīader bought the Amtrak tickets in early May 2021, with a plan to travel in late July. Train 351 had 203 passengers aboard for Chicago, Train 353 had 247.Andrew Bader and his son ride Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train together. The combined trains arrived in Chicago at 12:03 a.m., 13.5 hours behind schedule on Train 351's schedule, 10 hours behind on Train 353's schedule. When doubled up, 351/353 were delayed approximately 4.5 hours. Train 351 was delayed for about 7 hours, and Train 353 for approximately 3.5 hours. The passenger remained onboard and the train continued west. In addition to mechanical issues, Trains 351/353 stopped again to be met by Emergency Medical Services for a passenger onboard. Train 351 had 203 passengers aboard for Chicago, Train 353 had 247. Train 353 then coupled to Train 351, and the train operated as a "double train" to Chicago. Train 351 was stopped west of Ann Arbor, MI due to a mechanical issue. Passengers ABC7 spoke with said while the compensation is a nice offer, the question many have is what about compensation for the plans either rescheduled, canceled or lost. Passengers on the train said that was an understatement. "It was set up to leave at 6 in the morning, roughly, and get in around 10:30 local time in Chicago," Tobias said.īut the journey, which is typically about five hours, turned into a 19-hour ordeal.Īmtrak said the train the couple was on had a "mechanical issue" and had to stop west of Ann Arbor to couple with another train. They boarded their Amtrak train in Royal Oak, Mich., early Friday morning. Jake Tobias and Melissa Behring, who live in the Detroit area, had planned a big trip to Chicago Friday. The Amtrak train from Detroit to Chicago Friday night stranded passengers without food, water or electricity for 19 hours, some riders said.ĬHICAGO (WLS) - Passengers lived through an Amtrak nightmare over the weekend, getting stuck on a train from Detroit to Chicago for 19 hours without electricity, bathrooms, water or food.
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