Amtrak Passengers Cheer as Stuck Train Moves Again After Nearly 40 Hours

Nearly 200 people who were stuck on an Amtrak train for 36 hours are finally on the move after being trapped on a snowy stretch of track just south of Eugene, Oregon. 

A hundred and eighty-three passengers and 12 crew members became stranded aboard the Coast Starlight train from Seattle to Los Angeles on Sunday at 6 p.m. after it hit a tree branch that had fallen on the tracks amid wintry weather. 

Amtrak crews had to clear 40 miles of track blocked by snow and fallen trees to reach them. While they waited, passengers created a party atmosphere to keep their spirits up.  

“We are literally all in this together. It's our only option. We can't go negative here,” one passenger told Inside Edition.

“Last night they told us, 'This is our last meal we don't have breakfast,'” said another. 

Not everyone was so upbeat. One passenger tweeted, “This is hell and it's getting worse.”

Amtrak said the train became trapped by "an unfortunate sequence of events,” adding, "with more than a foot of heavy snow and numerous trees blocking the tracks ... the safest place for our customers was to remain on the train." 

Amtrak said it expects more delays as the formerly Los Angeles-bound train heads back north.

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