Amtrak delays affect holiday travelers

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The holiday spirit and patience was put to the test just a day before Christmas Eve. 

Amtrak was dealing with cancelations due to signal power issues in and out of New York-Penn Station over the weekend that trickled into Monday travel for commuters and families trying to get home for the holidays, including the Walker family from Richmond. 

"We left our hotel this morning, came here," said dad Josh.

He and his wife brought their two young kids to D.C. for the weekend to explore and see the holiday sights. But when they got to Union Station, they were met with a roadblock. 

"Did not know initially that the train was going to be delayed," he explained. 

Likewise, Allana Hamilton was visiting her grandma in Norfolk and was met with delays when she got to the train station there on Monday.  

"Woke up five o'clock in the morning thinking my train is going to take off around 7am," she explained, "but it didn’t end up until 9:30 this morning so a two hour delay."

"It was pretty hectic," she said. 

Thousands of travelers were at Union Station checking departure and arrival boards as well as notifications on their phones on Monday afternoon.  

Amtrak released a statement on Monday at 2:30pm that explained the reason for the delays and added - 

Unfortunately, there is no estimate for the resume of standard operating service.

The Walker family getting a little antsy, especially with keeping two little ones entertained. 

"Right now it’s scheduled to leave around 3:45pm, but I don’t know if it’s going to get pushed back more so we’ll see," Josh said, "we are ready to go home and sleep in our own bed."

In a statement on its website, Amtrak said to contact them if you need to change your travel plans.