About 140 passengers on board the Amtrak "Wolverine" train number 354 from Chicago to Detroit and Pontiac have been stuck on the train for some 13 hours.
They tell 7 Action News they have been told the delays were caused by a switch in the tracks near Chicago and snow on the train. They say they've gone through four crew changes.
Bill Lambert of Ann Arbor tells 7 Investigator Jim Kiertzner that this all could have been prevented by better planning.
Lambert says he enjoys riding the train and hopes Amtrak will fix this "systemic" problem so that they don't lose passengers.
He says people on board are not upset with crew members. During a stop this morning, the crew reportedly went to a nearby McDonalds and bought breakfast sandwiches for the passengers.
Amtrak released the following timeline regarding Wolverine:
"Train 354 left Chicago at approximately 8:25 pm due to an engine issue– it’s normally scheduled to depart at 6 pm. There was a one hour delay between approximately 10:45 and 11:45 due to switch issue caused by the weather. That was around new Buffalo, Michigan. The train arrived at Kalamazoo, Michigan at approximately 1 am, nearly four hours late and departed Kalamazoo at approximately 5:30 am to relieve crew. At approximately 7:35 am, the train stopped at Albion to relive additional crew. As of approximately 10:45 am, the train was on the move from Albion."
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article stated that the train ended in Toronto. Amtrak officials have clarified that the train actually ends in Pontiac but passengers can take a bus to the end of the route, which is Toronto.
