WXMI — Two Amtrak trains scheduled to run from Michigan to Chicago dealt with several issues and delays over the weekend, which made for a 19-hour trip. It forced a number of passengers to finally get off along a busy road to end their ordeal.
FOX 17 talked with several riders who say the delays weren’t even the worst part.
“I was supposed to have a really relaxed day, and then it was high stress,” explained Katherine Kobiljak, who was on the train at the time.
Kobiljak, who got on Wolverine-351 in Dearborn at 6:45 a.m., plans to participate in the Chicago Marathon Sunday. She says she was supposed to be in Chicago at 10:30 a.m. CST.
“I kind of put my trust in them to get me there in a stress-free situation and I was, I was just very disappointed,” Kobiljak added.
FOX 17 talked with Amtrak Saturday about the issues.
Senior Public Relations Manager Jason Abrams told FOX 17 that train-351 stopped 19 miles west of Ann Arbor because of a power issue with the engine.
Gabrielle Reece and Madison Gravlin told FOX 17 they were on their way to see a Harry Styles concert Saturday.
“You know, like, it was like towing a car and like okay, we’re just gonna push them, no big deal,” Reece told FOX 17 News.
Reece and Gravlin say what seemed like an easy solution quickly became a bigger issue.
“Went back about two miles. Went along to different tracks, so we could get in front of the train and then pull them to Chicago to be able to connect the two trains together. They had to shut the power to both trains, so with connecting the trains and then restoring power to both trains, that was about a three-hour delay just outside of Ann Arbor,” Gravlin added.
Pisarczyk said the power never came back on.
“The toilet started overflowing and the whole train smelled like a porta-potty, is the best way I could describe it, and everything was like moving and sloshing around. It was honestly so disgusting, so unsanitary,” Pisarczyk added.
On the route between Chelsea, MI and Jackson, MI, someone called 911 because of a medial issue.
Abrams says the person stayed on board after first responders answered the call.
Kobiljak, who said she had been on the train for nine hours at that point, was “done with it” and got off in Jackson.
“I wish they had maybe anticipated other alternatives a little bit earlier so that I could have gotten out of that situation before and maybe saved myself some of the stress,” Kobiljak told FOX 17.
Meanwhile, Pisarczyk said her four-hour trip turned into a 14-hour journey.
There were more delays in Indiana when a replacement crew had to be brought in because the crew couldn’t work longer than a 12-hour shift. On top of that, there were more mechanical issues.
The delays were enough and passengers found a way out. They pried a door open near East Chicago, took their luggage off and waited along a busy road to get other rides into Chicago.
“I don’t think you can really see it in the video, but that’s our train. We just made if off. We are standing in the middle of the road with a bunch of people. We just had to get off. It was so bad,” Pisarczyk added.
