MILWAUKEE — More than 200 people were stuck on an Amtrak train in Lynchburg Virginia for nearly two days, including one Milwaukee woman.
The Crescent Line was en route from New Orleans to New York when Amtrak officials said it "stopped north of Lynchburg due to ongoing weather conditions."
The train and the hundreds of passengers were stuck from Sunday night until late afternoon Tuesday when Amtrak officials said the line was back in service.
Lavita Booker of Milwaukee is one of the passengers on the train and described the experience as a nightmare.
"People have been so upset, ladies started crying, children crying," Booker said over FaceTime while the train was still stuck in Lynchburg. "That's a long time to tell someone to just sit there, and we don't know what's going to happen."
Booker got on the train in Atlanta. She was there visiting a friend for the New Year and is now on her way back home to Milwaukee.
She said there are several people on the train with medical conditions that need extra help and families ran out of diapers for their babies.
She said with food running low for passengers, Amtrak did what it could given the circumstances.
"They called Uber Eats and they called different places to get the people what they needed. I'm telling you, we ran out of everything. It's like no more food, no more water," Booker said.
Booker said she has been most upset with a lack of communication and what she calls, a lack of planning.
"We can't control mother nature, but it's what you (do) after something like this happens. Any government, any state, any entity should have an action plan. What do you do when you have 250 people on a train and the train cannot move? What's your next step?" Booker said.
She said she had trouble getting through to Amtrak's 1-800 number and hasn't had help rescheduling the connections she has now missed.
