NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A high-speed Washington, D.C.-bound Amtrak train lost power and broke down in Queens on Monday morning, leaving dozens of passengers stranded for more than seven hours.
Acela Train 2151, which left Boston around 5:05 a.m., was stopped outside a tunnel in Hunters Point around 8:37 a.m. "due to a power loss of the train," Amtrak said.
Some of the train's 106 passengers took to Twitter to document their ordeal.
"Our @amtrak 'acela' has now spent more time broken down in Queens than it did getting here from Providence," Paul Cohen tweeted.
"My first time back on Amtrak and heading to first conference since 2019, of course we have been broken down on tracks for more than three hours with no end in sight. Apparently the universe does not want me to enjoy the outside world yet," Rebecca Velez Frey tweeted.
"Leaving an entire train parked for 5 hours with no end in sight is not a good way to win business," another passenger tweeted.
Water and snacks were being provided to the passengers as they waited for the power to return and their trip to resume.
Around 1:30 p.m., Amtrak said a rescue engine was on the scene to move the train to Penn Station, where passengers can board another train to reach their destinations.
The train got moving again about two hours later and reportedly arrived at Penn Station around 4 p.m.
"It was traumatic and awful," a passenger, named Caitlin, said. "Seven hours stuck in one spot, 10 minutes from the station."
The woman, who was traveling from Providence, said the doors and toilets weren't working while the power was out, but the train managed to stay relatively warm thanks to the sunshine.
Later as the train was being towed to the station, the woman said the brakes appeared to be stuck and the smell of burning rubber became overwhelming.
"We were in the tunnel for a long time coming through. It was smoky, it was pitch black cause we still had no power. It smelled like a tire fire so it was horrible. I have a horrible headache," she said. "It smelled horrible. We're all tired, exhausted, the day's gone. We now have lost our entire day. So we just stay later tomorrow and we hope this doesn't happen on the way home."
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