Train Delay!

It was time to say goodbye to the beautiful Yosemite National Park. Another day of travelling ... by bus to Merced Amtrak Station, by train to Emeryville Amtrak Station, and by bus again back to downtown San Francisco. We were due back at our hotel by 4pm. Not too bad, as we could bring our dirty clothes to the laundromat for washing, eat our dinner, collect the clothes.

All went all, till we were almost at our destination, Emeryville Amtrak Station. The train suddenly pulled to a stop! A girl two seats away from us started screaming!

"I saw him! He must be knocked down by the train!"

We were not sure what exactly happened. The announcement came, a long while later, informing us that an accident had happened, and that the train would be delayed. The girl screamed again, upon hearing the announcement.

"I'm right! I knew there was a man there! Oh my god, he's dead!"

The electrical power was switched off. There was no air conditioning. People were walking about, looking out of the train window. There were policemen standing near the train tracks. There were police talking photographs. The ambulance had arrived. There was a car near the crossing section of the train tracks and road. We were held up for almost two hours! The mother of the girl was unhappy that such an accident happened, and she called AMTRAK to complain about the delay, as well as how traumatized her daughter was after witnessing the accident. Well, the customer service at Amtrak gave her a refund, for the delay. After the call to AMTRAK, the lady told everyone on the train, that we should call AMTRAK to get a refund, for the delay. Which we did, the next day =)

It was a painful wait ... waiting for announcements, waiting for the train to move. We were finally informed that the driver who tried to beat the train lights was not in a life-threatening situation, although his car was smashed badly. We still had to continue waiting, as train traffic that day was pretty heavy. SIGH. Luckily, we were given free bottles of water and some snacks. We were very tired from yesterday's hiking, and hungry.

A simple day of travelling turned nightmare .... we were too tired to dream that night ....