Boston-Bound Amtrak Train Delayed For 5 Hours

BOSTON — Passengers were stuck on an Amtrak train that broke down 5 to 10 minutes into its trip from New York to Boston on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The train sat on the tracks for more than five hours as toilets filled to the brim and temperatures rose, because of a mechanical issue on one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season.

The Amtrak Acela express train 2230 train stalled on the tracks just after leaving Penn Station, according to folks on the train who took to Twitter to chronicle their, ahem, adventures.

"Have been stuck on stranded Amtrak train for 5 hours now after sudden power loss. Things are getting dicey in here: a woman threatens to sue over unsanitary conditions in bathrooms, cafe car shut down; i do reckon it's only a matter of hours before people start eating each other," tweeted Nico Britt.

Later he confirmed no one ended up resorting to cannibalism. Staff at the cafe gave out free snacks and water for several hours before it shut down, according to folks on the train.

Many seemed to take the severe delay in stride, using the time to study, read or catch up on shows.

"Everyone besides first class has been civil. 90% of the passengers are calm and comfortable because our conductors are doing a great job," tweeted passenger Nick Yeh.

Some 11 hours later train 2230 rolled into Boston, about seven hours later than it was supposed to.

"Never been happier to be back in Boston," said Yeh. He said he called customer support and received a voucher for his travels yesterday.

"As I’ve told everyone, my travels yesterday did not sour my experience with @amtrak. They did the best they could and I’ll definitely travel with them in the future," he wrote.

According to an Amtrak, a power issue with the equipment that connects the overhead wires to the train caused the breakdown outside of Queens, N.Y., around 9:51 a.m. It wasn't until about 3:45 p.m. that the train started moving again. It arrived in Boston around 8:19 pm.

"Customers were accommodated with food and non-alcoholic beverages. We are having conversations with customers and offering appropriate compensation. There were approximately 299 passengers on board during the delay, and there were no injuries to report," a spokesperson told Patch.

In 2015, the total number of hours trains were delayed hit a peak of more than 102,000, according to the lastest data in 2016. The following year there were 89,900 hours worth of delays, according to government data.

Amtrak has been under fire in the past for delays and this didn't appear to help in the eyes of some.

With the power out during the hours-long delay, the toilets on the train would not flush and it got hot and stuffy in the train according to those who were tweeting.

"No electricity = train smells like sewage. We are very unhappy, Amtrak," tweeted Hannah Markowitz.

And it appeared family members of those on the train working to figure out family arrangements were less forgiving.

"This is a total breakdown of Amtrak the company. Train is not on the move, they are lying. Customer service is rude and incompetent. Amtrak police are doing nothing but yelling at concerned parents. All execs should be fired. This is a total breakdown..." tweeted Neil Kaufman.

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff