A deadly Amtrak derailment in Montana over the weekend left passengers stranded at St. Paul's Union Depot, where all westbound trains from Chicago now end until at least Tuesday or when the derailment site is cleared.
Elena Gubina, 67, of North Potomac, Md., purchased a vacation package through Amtrak that was to take her from Chicago to Seattle, then Los Angeles and New Orleans. Instead, she was sitting in St. Paul on Sunday with no sleep for more than 24 hours.
"They told me the train would go today," Gubina said. "I asked the ticket agent whether it would be safe. He told me that the [Depot] is very safe … I told him I'm talking about rails. I was doubtful they will be able to repair the rails so fast after such a huge derailment.
"But I believed them and instead of just taking the plane and moving on, I'm stranded here."
Gubina, who is Russian, found out about the derailment that killed at least three passengers and injured dozens during dinner on her ride to St. Paul. Once she arrived at the depot around 9 p.m., she was given two options: stay here or go to Minot, N.D. She stayed — per the recommendation of an Amtrak employee — and her train was rebooked for Sunday evening. She wasn't told that she wouldn't be able to go farther than Minot.
The last westbound train from St. Paul left on schedule to Minot on Saturday at 10:20 p.m., but that was as far west as the train went. It's unclear when the derailment site near Joplin in Montana will be cleared for trains to travel west beyond that point.
In a statement Sunday, Amtrak said beginning Sunday and until Tuesday, all westbound Empire Builder trains scheduled to depart Chicago will terminate in St. Paul due to the derailment of eight cars on the Empire Builder train traveling westbound from Chicago to Seattle/Portland around 4 p.m. Saturday. During that same time frame, eastbound Empire Builder trains will not operate between Seattle/Portland and St. Paul. The eastbound Empire Builder train that departed Seattle on Saturday and the Empire Builder train that departed Portland on Saturday were canceled between Shelby and Minot.
Bill Levering, 44, of Atlanta, has been traveling on Amtrak the past month after recently retiring from the Navy. He said the canceled train has created a "panic situation" for some — like a mother and son who were without money for food or lodging — but he's a more laid-back, flexible traveler.