Photo: Chris Pietsch/AP/REX/Shutterstock
“It feels like a nightmare, honestly, because it took forever and yet it’s already over,” passenger Finn Friedmantold KOMO. “It just feels good that I’m not stuck anymore.”
The 183 passengers had been stuck on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight since Sunday evening after a tree fell onto the tracks during a winter storm, halting the train’s journey from Los Angeles to Seattle, according to theAssociated Press. The passengers were kept on the train because of the town’s power outage, the AP reported.
Chris Pietsch/AP/REX/Shutterstock
“It’s just, like, relief. I’m just excited to get off of here,” 16-year-old Abbie Jeffrey, a passenger,told KGW.
Passengers told the AP that they all banded together during the lengthy ordeal. They helped each other contact their families, older kids entertained little ones and women formed a “mom brigade” to take care of the children.
“People were being very kind to each other, being friends,” passenger Tracy Rhodes told the AP. “It restores your faith.”
Photos of the rescue showed passengers smiling and placing phone calls as they were finally let off the train. Just one day earlier, spirits weren’t running so high.
None of the passengers are injured, Amtrak spokesmanMarc Magliari told CNNas he confirmed the incident earlier this week.
“Due to worsening conditions, area road closures and no viable way to safely transport passengers or crews via alternate transportation, Train 11 stopped in Oakridge, Oregon,” Magliari added. “We are actively working with Union Pacific to clear the right of way and get passengers off the train.”
Amtrakofficials said in a tweetthat passengers were not being charged for food or water on the train, adding that staff were doing everything in their “power to make sure [passengers] are comfortable.”
Ahead of the rescue, Dodson told CNN that the passengers were all making the best of the situation.
“It’s just been like a giant kumbaya party. Strangers are playing cards,” Dodson said. “A teenager played his ukulele to kids to get them to sleep. Ladies who have never met before were dancing in aisles.”
source: people.com
