An Amtrak regional train headed toward Wilmington, Delaware, malfunctioned in a Baltimore tunnel, leaving commuters stuck on the train without power and delaying service for MARC Penn Line trains.
Passengers of Northeast Regional Train 94 were transferred to another train in Baltimore due to a “locomotive malfunction” of the 94, Amtrak spokesperson Olivia Irvin said in an email.
Amtrak did not immediately provide more details on what led to the malfunction.
Several MARC Penn Line trains are operating on delays because of the Amtrak train’s breakdown, and the sudden pause led to a nearly 40-minute delay for commuters on another train traveling from Washington, D.C., to Boston, according to Amtrak alerts.
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The Amtrak train, which was stuck in a tunnel, was evacuated just before 5 p.m., according to Fox 5 in Washington, D.C., which first reported the issue. Around 5:15 p.m., Train 176 continued operations, per Amtrak alerts.
Videos shared on social media from a Fox 5 journalist show travelers stuck in a Baltimore tunnel for over an hour with no air conditioning as Maryland, with much of the East Coast, swelters under a dangerous heat dome.
Seemingly disgruntled travelers fanned themselves as a voice from an intercom apologized for the delay and explained that they were working to get the train out of the tunnel and back onto the platform after restarting the motor.
MARC Penn Line Train 462, which departs from Union Station at 6 p.m., was already canceled this week in anticipation of heat-related equipment failure, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. Commuters were advised to ride trains 440 and 544.
Clarification: This story was updated to clarify the route of the Northeast Regional Train 94.
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