CARBONDALE, Ill. � A train stalled for several hours in Carbondale Monday morning, forcing passengers to take a bus to their destination.
The City of New Orleans Amtrak train was making its way from Chicago to New Orleans overnight  but problems with the train caused it to make a prolonged stop in our area.
Tim Davis lives in London and he took a vacation in America, hoping to visit New Orleans.
He also works with a rail company in England. Â
"I know about train breakdowns," Davis said. "You can believe me."
He was one of dozens of people stranded in Carbondale Monday morning.
"One of the nice things about this journey was that for a few good few hours, we weren’t moving and I was able to sleep very well," Davis said.
The Chicago to New Orleans Amtrak line had problems once it pulled into the Carbondale station.
A spokesman for Amtrak says a mechanical issue made the train unusable.
The spokesman says 145 customers were affected and they’re encouraged to contact Amtrak customer service for any issues.
"We kind of just waited it out to see if they was actually going to get it done and fix it up," passenger Reginald Morton said. "It cut on a couple times but ultimately it just failed."
Amtrak provided some food for their wait.
"And I’m really appreciative of that because I’m going to smash. I’m really hungry," Morton said.
But other passengers weren’t so happy.
"It’s still cold," Christy Bloom of Chicago said. "I was looking forward to waking up to warm weather."
Bloom said she just wanted a romantic getaway to New Orleans, "And I’m really disappointed because I was really excited and it was going to be so much fun and I woke up to this."
Several buses came to pick up the stranded passengers. Bloom said she’s not sure if Amtrak will compensate them for the failed train ride.
"But we are definitely going to be making that call," Bloom said.
And coincidentally, Davis has a podcast documenting his adventures on trains in America.
"This will make the podcast, yes," Davis said.
Davis� podcast can be found here:
Eventually, all of the passengers went on their way to their various destinations, just not the way they expected.
