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An Amtrak train has been stranded in the snow in Oregon since Sunday with nearly 200 people on board
Image source: ABC News video screenshot

An Amtrak train has been stranded in the snow in Oregon since Sunday with nearly 200 people on board

Amtrak said that there was no safe way to evacuate those on board

UPDATE Feb. 26 at 12:15 p.m. ET: A locomotive engine has arrived at the scene, and is currently pulling the train back to Eugene, Oregon.

A train heading from Seattle to Los Angeles has been stuck on the tracks near Oakridge, Oregon, since Sunday evening. At least 183 passengers are trapped on board.

What's the story?

The trip, which is more than 1,000 miles, normally takes about 30 to 35 hours, according to the Amtrak website.

A spokesman for Amtrak, Marc Magliari, told CNN that the delay was caused by "numerous blockages from snow and fallen trees." He also said that there conditions were continuing to worsen, and that there was "no viable way to safely transport passengers or crews via alternate transportation.

According to a statement Aktrak provided to KHQ-TV, there were no injuries on board and the company was "actively working with Union Pacific to clear the right of way and get passengers off the train."

For now, food and water supplies have been holding out and Aktrak hasn't been charging passengers for any extra meals. But the train's stocks are starting to run low.

The passengers have also run out of other supplies, like diapers for passengers with young children.

"They don't have those supplies on the train," a passenger named Carly Bigby told ABC News. "So we're kind of just making do with what we have."

The train is also stuck in a dead zone for cellphone reception for many of the passengers, preventing them from being able to reach family members and let them know what happened.

At 7:54 a.m. ET Tuesday, a woman named Rebekah Dodson — who USA Today identified as being a passenger on the train — tweeted "We have an engine!" There have been no further updates as of the publication of this article, and no reports that the working engine was enough to get the train moving

When the train finally begins moving again, it will abandon its route to Los Angeles and head back to Eugene, Oregon.


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