Amtrak Update: Passengers Stranded On Train For Over 36 Hours In Oregon Finally Moving

Nearly 200 passengers that had been stranded for over 36 hours on an Amtrak train from Seattle en route to Los Angeles are finally moving after a Union Pacific locomotive arrived Tuesday morning to pull them to safety.

The Union Pacific train will haul the Amtrak train back to a station in Eugene, Oregon, approximately 50 miles from where travelers were left to await rescue. The Amtrak train had been delayed due to a tree that had fallen on the tracks.

Amtrak informed passengers that additional delays can be expected along the route due to snow.

The Amtrak Coast Starlight train hit a tree in the Oregon town of Oakridge at about 6:20 p.m. on Sunday. The tree was brought down due to a winter storm and wind gusts over 20 miles per hour that have hit the Pacific Northwest.

Kelly Shelton, one of the many marooned train passengers, told NBC's "Today" in a phone interview Tuesday that "people [were] scared" before the Union Pacific train arrived.

She also described how Amtrak failed to provide adequate information as to how the situation would be resolved.

"There has been so little communication from Amtrak. I am very disappointed,” said Shelton, who was traveling with her daughter.

Shelton also discussed how travelers have had to take care of others with pre-existing health conditions and that tensions were running high.

"We’ve had two people have anxiety, heart-related issues," she said. "We have just had to take care of each other. There has been no help from outside."

Footage from the train taken by a passenger showed them listless and worried as supplies had dwindled.

"As of tonight that was the last meal that was available," said one traveler in the video, amid reports that whatever was left on the train was to be strictly rationed.

Rebekah Dodson, another stranded passenger, described the problems Monday in a Facebook posting.

"This is hell, and it's getting worse," Dodson's post reads. "Today has been crazy ... helping people out of panic attacks and chasing down toddlers. Among other things, the last 18 hours has been insanity and gone by in the blink of an eye."

An Amtrak official statement released on Sunday confirmed that none of the 183 passengers were injured and that the weather conditions made it difficult for rescuers.

"Due to worsening conditions, area road closures and no viable way to safely transport passengers or crews via alternate transportation, Amtrak Coast Starlight train 11 stopped in Oakridge, Oregon," the statement read.

Amtrak Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Scot Naparstek apologized to travelers.

"We sincerely regret the extended delay customers on the southbound Coast Starlight experienced due to extreme weather issues while traveling with Amtrak," Naparstek said.

According to Statista, approximately 11,597 train accidents or incidents were recorded in 2017. Data from a 2018 report by the Federal Railroad Administration show that the number of derailments in the U.S. has increased by 5.2 percent since 2017, but has decreased overall by 3 percent since 2015.

There were three major crashes within seven weeks in 2018, prompting a federal inquiry over the last crash, which involved a train-on-train collision in North Carolina that killed two and injured 116.