Amtrak Passengers Stranded for 29 Hours Feared They Had Been Kidnapped

Amtrak Passengers Stranded for 29 Hours Feared They Had Been Kidnapped

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Hundreds of Amtrak passengers in South Carolina were stranded on a train for more than a day, prompting several to call the police out of fear they were being held hostage.

According to The Guardian, the train, which departed from Washington D.C., was delayed for more than 29 hours after being rerouted due to a derailed CSX freight train, reported ABC News.

Panicked passengers fearing a more serious situation eventually began dialing 911, prompting the conductor to announce, “For those of you that are calling the police, we are not holding you hostage.”

The autotrain, which allows passengers to travel with their vehicles, was set to arrive in Sanford, Florida, at about 10am on Tuesday. But after a scheduled stop in Lorton, Virginia, at 5.30pm on Monday, it halted in a wooded area in Denmark, South Carolina, an hour outside of Columbia.

After a long wait, the employees “timed out”, meaning they could not legally operate the train, and had to wait for a new crew to arrive. The train had limited food supplies and multiple pets in need of a bathroom break, reported the Washington Post.

The train, which carried 563 passengers and 333 vehicles, finally reached its destination on the morning of January 11.

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