Amtrak train stalled 5 hours in Bronx; wire problem blamed

NEW YORK – Passengers aboard a Boston-bound Amtrak train said Friday they were stuck in New York City overnight for about five hours without heat.

The passengers took to Twitter with complaints about being cold and given little information from Amtrak on what was happening. They said they were in some unknown part of the Bronx. The train originated in Washington.

“You don’t want to see an Amtrak bathroom after four hours with no power. It was nasty,” said passenger Sharon Rice as she finally arrived in Boston’s South Station just after noon Friday.

Jane Schumacher, of Boston, said the worst part of the experience was “freezing in the dark” and not knowing what was going on.

“It was just really bad planning. Amtrak, if you’re listening, I travel with you guys a lot. That was poor,” said Andy Early, of New Hampshire.

Amtrak tweeted its apologies while the train was stalled and responded to complaints by telling passengers to call the railroad’s customer relations department.

The railroad said in a statement Friday morning that the train had a problem with overhead electrical wires. It said crews restored power to the train at 7:10 a.m. and the train resumed travel around 7:30 a.m.

The railroad’s chief operations officer reiterated its apology in another statement.