200 Passengers Stranded When Metro-North Train Loses Power in Connecticut

About 200 Metro-North passengers were stranded on an unheated train on one of the coldest nights of the year for hours Wednesday night after it lost power and stalled in southwestern Connecticut, a spokeswoman for the railroad said

The New Haven-bound train left Grand Central Terminal at 7:34 p.m. and lost power near the Green's Farms station in Westport just before 9 p.m., the spokeswoman said. A downed overhead wire caused the power loss.

The train was one of the railroad's newer models, so battery-powered lights came on, but the train lost heat, the spokeswoman said. 

A rescue train arrived about 10 p.m. to pick up the passengers, but problem on with a switch kept them from boarding for nearly an hour, the spokeswoman said.

Passengers said it got cold on the train as the wait stretched on, but Metro-North workers kept passengers updated on the situation.

"It would have been great to have hot chocolate," said one passenger who was headed to East Haven. "The reality of it is that all they can do is keep us updated." 

Crews worked overnight to restore power to the train and clear the track and make repairs. Metro-North said passengers should expect delays of up to 20 minutes Thursday morning. 

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