Wolverine 352 Stalled for 6 hours, Leaving Passengers with No A/C or Power

Kalaia Jackson, Staff Writer

Photo//Wikimedia Commons

Around 6 PM on August 15, Amtrak train, Wolverine 352, stopped in a field between its Battle Creek, MI and Jackson, MI stops. The passengers were notified that an alert had been made near the engine, and the conductors had to check it out. After sitting for 20 minutes, the passengers were told that in 15 minutes, the system would reboot and the train would start moving again. This was only the beginning of a 6-hour delay.

After sitting for about an hour and a half, the conductors shared that a train would come push the train back to Battle Creek, since it would only be a 5-minute ride, then buses would take us to our destination. When another hour had passed, a conductor walked through the train, saying “Let’s go to Battle Creek!”, but then the train proceeded to sit for another hour.

Hopes were beginning to fall, and passengers were getting anxious. With no clear time of when the train would get pushed to Battle Creek, some passengers sprang into action and began to assist others. Some people who really made a difference were Alfarezdeq Nassir, Rachel Leonard, Nila Hooper, Khailin Huffman, and Veronika Ramirez. These individuals, who were also passengers on the train, helped keep others calm, hydrated, and hopeful that they all would make it home.

The lack of communication caused panic, frustration, fear, and more emotions to emanate from the passengers. One passenger believed he was not going to make it home, so he frantically called his family to keep them updated on the situation despite his low battery. Another passenger was visiting her grandma for the last time before she passed, but due to the untimely delay, she lost that chance. The poor communication and lack of urgency to get these passengers home resulted in them sitting in a hot train with no power, air conditioning, or functioning bathrooms for over 5 hours.

The initial plan of pushing Wolverine 352 back to Battle Creek and having passengers get on buses had changed, and passengers were now told that they would have to walk to 11 Mile Rd and get on the buses there. This was a shock since there were young children and elderly people on the train who could not walk the rocky side of the tracks without possibly injuring themselves.

Around 1 AM, the buses finally began to take passengers to their destinations. 

This delay affected many, and the passengers who were on Wolverine 352 are expecting answers from Amtrak regarding the time they lost waiting for help.

If you were on Wolverine 352, please comment about your feelings and experience while on the train. 

Rachel Leonard posted a YouTube video explaining her feelings about what occurred on August 15. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/RuHvchiZr5A?si=Bh8gkMLKIvBWY6Cv