MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Travelers stuck for hours after freezing weather stops train miles short of Portland

Jan 15, 2024, 9:06 AM | Updated: 9:49 am

(Photo from KIRO 7)...

(Photo from KIRO 7)

(Photo from KIRO 7)

It was a weekend trip to Portland cut short for travelers, after their Amtrak train was literally stopped in its tracks midway due to extreme winter weather.

We were Seattle’s King Street Station on Sunday where we spoke with those travelers who faced delays in both directions of their trip.



When the women we talked to left on Saturday, it was a total of nine hours just to get stopped miles short of Portland. Then, it was another five hours back to Seattle on the train on Sunday.

It started as a girls trip to Portland to see a show, until a frozen switch stopped their train on the tracks for four hours just four miles outside of Portland.

That had them rerouted to Vancouver, Washington, where some travelers ended up spending the night.

“It was frustrating and a really long two days,” one traveler told us. “The only good thing with meeting new friends on the train, and when the reschedule, hopefully soon, we’ll all go down and get together and try this again one more time.”

The show they were going to see ended up getting postponed anyway due to weather.

At the train station, we counted about nine delays in arrivals and delays, and another three trains cancelled within a single hour on Sunday evening.



Please follow our Community Guidelines

MyNorthwest News

Mayor wilson Katie Wilson shon barnes fired resignation agreement...

Frank Lenzi

Shon Barnes resignation agreement: former Seattle Police Chief gets $590,000, keeps signing bonus

Former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes will receive $590,000 as part of his resignation agreement.

7 hours ago

US Department of Education...

KIRO 7 News Staff

WA superintendent responds to ‘sham’ investigation by US Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education is requesting information from California and Washington on what it called “transgender policies” in schools.

11 hours ago

sound transit 3 ballard light rail 2042...

Frank Lenzi

Ballard light rail ‘not dead’: Sound Transit targets 2042 for Market Street service

The Ballard light rail is not dead, according to Seattle City Councilmember and Sound Transit Board Member Dan Strauss.

12 hours ago

seattle police bodycam bite of seattle shooting...

Julia Dallas

VIDEO: Police release bodycam footage from Bite of Seattle shooting, arrest

The Seattle Police Department released bodycam footage from a gang-related mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle on Sunday.

13 hours ago

shon barnes (4)...

Luke Duecy

The Spin: Former SPD chief’s Bite of Seattle news conference was a crisis communications masterclass

Former SPD Chief Barnes used a textbook crisis communications strategy during a news conference following the deadly Bite of Seattle shooting.

13 hours ago

manhunt mill creek I-5...

Frank Lenzi

Manhunt near I-5 in Mill Creek: Deputies, K-9 search for suspect who may have stolen firearm

A manhunt is underway near I-5 in Mill Creek after a suspect stole items from a vehicle — potentially including a firearm — and fled on foot into a wooded area, Snohomish County sheriff's officials said.

15 hours ago

Travelers stuck for hours after freezing weather stops train miles short of Portland