KALAMAZOO
Amtrak breakdown created a ‘horror movie’ scene, 33 trains have same problematic part

Published: Aug. 19, 2025, 12:33 p.m.
By Aya Miller | amiller2@mlive.com

CALHOUN COUNTY, MI -- Michigan Amtrak riders were stuck on a train for almost five hours after a faulty sensor inside the train engine malfunctioned. … It created a nightmare scene for passengers. Now, riders are calling for accountability, as it’s not the first Amtrak breakdown in Michigan. ..: Meanwhile, 33 other Amtrak trains with the same potentially problematic sensor are still running until Amtrak can get the parts for a fix.

The eastbound Amtrak Train 352 left Chicago 15 minutes late on Friday, Aug. 15, due to a “mechanical assessment.” Things got worse when the train stalled out just east of Battle Creek around 7:15 p.m. … The next five hours “felt like a horror movie,” said Sapna Patel, a passenger on the train. … “It was just hot and so sweaty and buggy,” Patel said.

The train was surrounded by cornfields and many passengers didn’t have cell service, Patel said. Passengers say they were left in sweltering heat and “dangerous” conditions while they waited for buses to pick them up.

Power and plumbing to the cabins was shut off and passengers waited an hour for an update, Patel said. ..: “We’re talking about a metal tube with glass windows. So you’re sitting there in a fish bowl of sorts, and it’s only going to get hotter,” Patel said.

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