Travelers on Virginia-to-Florida train take 36 hours to reach destination

(WWBT) - Travelers heading from northern Virginia to Florida spent more than 36 hours on a train this week after a derailment blocked the tracks.

Reports say the Amtrak train left Fairfax County around 5 p.m. Monday with an expected arrival time of 10 a.m. the next day. However, a freight train derailment in South Carolina on Monday night forced the Amtrak train to stop overnight in Hamlet, North Carolina.

Travelers were not able to leave the train, which started moving again at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The train had to stop on Tuesday afternoon for the Amtrak crew to change its crew, causing an additional delay.

Passengers finally arrived in Sanford just before 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday.