(The following report by Allene Moody appeared at WJLA.com on June 22, 2010.)
CHEVERLY, Md. Hundreds of MARC passengers are upset after they were stranded on a train for hours in sweltering heat, which sent two people to the hospital.
The disabled train, MARC 538, reportedly left Union Station around 6:13 p.m. headed north toward Baltimore. It was feet from the New Carrollton station when it broke down.
According to the MARC website around 8:57 p.m., all passengers were transferred to MARC 442 which was moving northbound. MARC 442 was making all stops northbound through to Perryville and was operating approximately 80 minutes late in the Halethorpe area.
An MTA spokesperson told ABC 7 earlier Monday these trains can have problems in the heat and temperatures were around 90 degrees.
A release from MTA revealed that MARC 538's locomotive lost power after leaving Union Station D.C. The equipment failed and caused the train to roll to a stop. Power also was lost to some passenger cars and without air conditioning inside the train, temperatures rose while passengers waited roughly two hours for help. "Less than five mins after leaving Union Station, the train stopped - no air, no power, no nothing," passenger Kijana Mack told us.
One passenger called to tell us that it was sweltering inside the train without air conditioning and no air circulation, and the windows were fogging up.
"100 degree heat and they wouldn't open the windows. We had to argue with the cops to bust open the windows or open the doors for people," said one passenger.
"Here's my issue: if me or anyone else left our pit in a motor transportation in a mall parking lot closed on a 95 degree day, we're going to jail. You just had hundreds of people in a closed transportation on a 95 degree day and no one's in trouble. What's going on?" said Kijana Mack.
What was going on was everyone's question. Passengers say they weren't getting any information.
One passenger who called ABC 7 from the train told us, that after sitting on the train for nearly two hours without any idea about what was happening, a police officer stopped by around 8 p.m. to tell riders that a rescue train was on the way.
A fire EMS crew would also be on the way. Prince George's County Fire EMS was called to treat several passengers. Two people were sent to Prince George's Hospital center. One person was treated for dehydration while the other person had asthma related problems.
MTA says no one was hurt when the train rolled to a stop.
MTA Administrator Ralign Wells issued the following statement, apologizing to passengers:
"To all of our MARC passengers on train number 538 this evening, I want to apologize for the inconvenience and the uncomfortable conditions you endured while Amtrak and MARC crews worked to resolve the situation. I can guarantee you that a full review of all operations, communications and technical issues will begin immediately to identify the cause of this evening's problem and improve the response of both Amtrak and MARC in the future."
But many said this incident wasn't surprising because similar scenarios have happened several times before.
"It happens at least once a week and they don't do anything," said one person. "Not going to refund your ticket. Not better luck next time, nothing."
