23-06-2025
‘Unbearable': Amtrak stopped in Baltimore tunnel without air conditioning
Passengers on a Northeast Regional Amtrak train were stuck in Union Tunnel near Baltimore's Penn Station without power or air conditioning during extreme heat for over an hour, according to one traveler.
Miriam Torrey-Coffidis, a 15-year-old passenger from Silver Spring, came aboard at Washington's Union Station with her family shortly before 2 p.m. They were headed to New York to catch a flight. While initially scheduled to arrive in New York at 5:23 p.m., the family disembarked at Baltimore's Penn Station at about 5 p.m.
'We were stuck in a tunnel and it was scorching hot,' she said. 'It was really unbearable.'
Torrey-Coffidis said train staff told passengers there was a mechanical problem and had to pass out water from the cafe car three times over the course of the stoppage, which started at about 3:30 p.m. and lasted until almost 5 p.m.
'It felt like you were in … a sauna.' The power to the crowded train was completely off, she said. 'I know it's narrow-minded of me, but it definitely dampened my impression of Amtrak.'
Though the family probably won't stop buying train tickets from Amtrak due to their convenience, she said, they won't be in a rush to book their next trip.
'Passengers from Amtrak Train 94 are currently being transferred to Amtrak Train 176 after an earlier locomotive malfunction,' Amtrak said in a statement Monday. The company did not have additional details about the malfunction, including its cause.
This morning Amtrak said passengers going between Washington and New York might experience delays between noon and 8 p.m. due to 'temperature-related speed restrictions.'
'Amtrak issues heat restrictions when ambient temperatures are greater than 95 degrees. Amtrak also reduces speeds when the tracks themselves reach 128 degrees,' its fact sheet on how the company responds to extreme heat conditions says.
While most of the passengers were able to get onto train 176, Torrey-Coffidis' family wasn't one of them, as that train became too full. They were among passengers waiting for train 178.
Amtrak advised passengers traveling between Wilmington and Boston on train 94 to rebook to the next train at 4:30 p.m.
Luckily the family's flight is Tuesday, Torrey-Coffidis said.
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