Image copyright
Carly Bigby
Passenger Carly Bigby shared photos of the stalled train
An Amtrak train with 183 passengers on board has been stalled in the snow in Oregon since Sunday night after hitting a tree that fell on the tracks.
Heavy snow and downed trees had prevented rail crews from reaching the train until now, but they have reportedly now arrived on-site.
The train, travelling from Seattle to Los Angeles, hit the tree around 18:20 on Sunday, local media reported.
No one was hurt after the accident and passengers still have food and water.
While the train itself still has power and essentials, passengers have said other items – like diapers and female sanitary products – are running out and stress levels are rising.
One passenger, Rebekah Dodson, told KTVL News: “We’ve gotten yelled at for opening windows. We can’t get of the train because there’s four feet (1.2m) of snow in every direction. There’s nowhere to go.”
In a separate interview with CNN she said several students have “panicked” because their university professors are refusing to accept their excuse for missing classes.
She added that the group includes about 20 students from Japan, and that there is poor mobile phone reception in the region.
The Coast Starlight Train 11 is currently near the town of Oakridge – a small town that has become further isolated by the wintry conditions, with snow blocking roads and causing the town to lose power.
Image copyright
Carly Bigby
There are reportedly babies and children on board the train
Amtrak said they are not charging passengers for any food or water. They are working with the Union Pacific rail company to clear tracks.
Passenger Carly Bigby told the BBC another locomotive had arrived around 06:00 local time, but Amtrak informed them “it is going to be a slow go”.
Crews are expected to move the train back towards Eugene and Portland, Oregon, Amtrak said in a statement to US media.
Amtrak said that passengers were kept on board the train because of the power outages in Oakridge and to avoid separating passengers between the town’s two small hotels.
Residents in Oakridge say the situation there is also growing dire, as local petrol stations and grocery stores have had to shut due to lack of electricity.
“You can’t get a hold of water, you can’t get a hold of food, you can’t get a hold of any sort of fuel to create heat or to cook with,” Christina Mentzer told KPIC-TV.
So people are looking for propane, people are looking for gasoline, people are looking for water. Today they’re asking, but as of right now essentially what’s going on is they’re going around town finding where they can get stuff if it gets that bad.”