Chicago-to-Pontiac Amtrak passengers spend New Year's Eve in long delay

An Amtrak train making its way on New Year's Day from Chicago to the Detroit area left about 150 Michigan-bound passengers waiting an extra 12 hours.

First there was an issue with an engine, then problems with the weather, then crew changes. 

Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in an e-mail the train had been scheduled to leave Chicago at 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Instead:

"Train 354, the Wolverine traveling from Chicago to Pontiac, Michigan, left Chicago at approximately 8:25 p.m. due to an engine issue. ... There was a one-hour delay between approximately 10:45 and 11:45 due to switch issue caused by the weather. That was around New Buffalo, Michigan. The train arrived at Kalamazoo, Michigan at approximately 1 a.m., nearly four hours late, and departed Kalamazoo at approximately 5:30 a.m. to relieve crew. At approximately 7:35 a.m., the train stopped at Albion to relieve additional crew. As of approximately 10:45 a.m., the train was on the move from Albion."

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David Arnsdorf of Ann Arbor told WWJ-AM (950) he was on board.

“Basically we rolled along reasonably well until we got to Kalamazoo at which point we stopped,” Arnsdorf said. “We basically ended up sitting there for five hours. They said some of their crew was out of time so we waited for crew, and then we moved to Battle Creek, which is the next station. Then we sat there for a couple of hours because again the crew was out of time and they had to replace the crew again.”