Amtrak passengers on a train from Detroit were roughly eight hours late arriving into Chicago after their train slowed to a stop in western Michigan. The delay was blamed on the extreme cold conditions that prompted rail officials to modify Monday's schedule.
Exhausted passengers on Wolverine train 353 lined up for cabs outside Union Station after finally arriving in Chicago a little after 1 a.m. Monday.
"Something was frozen and the pressure wasn't working so they couldn't use the brakes on that engine," said passenger Celeste Aruda. "From that point on, about every hour they told us, 'Just another half hour until we get someone here who is going to fix this.' And every plan they went through just fell through."
Rail officials on Sunday announced that service to and from Chicago would be altered Monday. The severe weather conditions, as well as an anticipated decrease in demand because of travel advisories posted in several states, prompted officials to limit service.
Amtrak officials made the following modifications to Monday's service:
- Canceled: Lincoln Service Trains 300, 301 and 305
(Trains 302, 303, 304, 306 and 307 and Trains 21/321 and 22/321 scheduled to maintain service on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor) - Canceled: Hiawatha Service Trains 329, 332, 333, 336, 337 and 340
(Trains 330, 331, 334, 335, 338 & 339 scheduled to maintain service on the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor) - Canceled: Wolverine Service Trains 352 and 353
(Trains 350, 351, 354 and 355 scheduled to maintain service on the Chicago-Ann Arbor-Detroit-Pontiac corridor) - Canceled: Pere Marquette Train 371
- Canceled: Carl Sandburg Trains 381 and 382
(Trains 380 & 383 scheduled to maintain service on the Chicago-Quincy corridor) - Canceled: Saluki Trains 391 and 392
(Trains 390 and 392 and Trains 58 and 59 scheduled to maintain service on the Chicago-Carbondale corridor)
Alternate transportation will not be available for passengers, officials said.
Passengers who've paid their fare but choose not to travel due to the service disruptions qualify for a refund. Some reservations booked online can be modified or canceled on Amtrak.com, the company said.
"Amtrak regrets any inconvenience," the company said in a statement.
Passengers can call (800)-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com/alerts for service alerts and passenger notices.
