Amtrak derailment in Ventura County impacts riders up and down the coast
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A train derailment in Ventura County late Wednesday morning left a dozen people injured, stalling Surfliner train traffic up and down the coast. The train hit a public works water truck obstructing the tracks.
By Wednesday evening, Amtrak was busing people to their destinations. Your NewsChannel crew saw at least two trains carrying passengers from Santa Barbara County to the station in Oxnard on Wednesday night.
Amtrak also filled buses in the afternoon and evening hours, taking riders to their destinations north and southbound.
Many people spent hours waiting for alternative transportation.
The timing of the accident made travel more challenging, impacting folks traveling for the long, Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Bret Winkler of Portland said his family was in Santa Barbara visiting his mother in hospice care.
He saw his daughter off as she headed on a bus to see friends in Anaheim.
Others were on a family getaway, taking their kids to see the sites in Santa Barbara.
"We were here to go to the Moxi Museum and have a good mommy's day out with the kids," said Elicia Moorman, of Newbury Park, "And now we are derailed and we are taking the bus but our toddlers were hoping to take the train home."
Many people had trouble figuring out what to do, but Amtrak Surfliner staff arranged for a number of buses to pick them up.
"All these other people have their train tickets and they are letting them use their train tickets on the bus," said Margaret Olson of Santa Monica. "I traded mine for a bus ticket."
Olson, who said she recently broke her hip, was visiting family and thought she would have to wait for a 9:00 p.m. bus. The Amtrak staff used a wheelchair lift to get her on an earlier bus so she wouldn't feel stranded.
People feeling frustrated tried to make the best of a bad situation.
We also talked to people waiting for trains at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Some were getting Ubers to car rental offices.
"We always understand that this can happen just working with other to figure out another plan," said Jay Hudson of Ventura.
He was looking to share a ride to San Diego to see friends.
Bobbie Wolfe and her husband said they planned to rent a car. They enjoyed the swap meet and stayed at a hotel by the beach. They said their train getaway was already impacted by coastal erosion covering tracks in San Clemente.
"Our car is sitting in Irvine right now because we drove from San Diego to Irvine to pick up the train there."
At the accident site in Moorpark, investigators were combing through evidence to determine the exact cause. At last check, officials said 15 people were hurt, including the driver of the water truck.
The Amtrak Train 14 Coast Star Light was headed to Seattle at the time of the crash. Its next intended stop was Oxnard.
Amtrak said it may be the end of the week before train traffic is back to normal.
