Hicksville woman stuck nearly 24 hours on storm-delayed train in Virginia

A Hicksville woman expecting to be at work on Tuesday after a trip to Miami for the holidays found herself stranded for hours on an Amtrak train in Virginia following the fierce winter storm that hit the mid-Atlantic.

Claire Czeczil, 64, said the Silver Star — which she was still on Tuesday evening — was supposed to arrive at New York Penn Station on Monday night after leaving Florida Sunday.

"I do it all the time and I never have a problem," Czeczil said of her trip in a sleeper cabin seat. She spoke by phone as she rode near Fredericksburg after the nearly 24-hour delay caused by snow, ice and downed trees on the tracks. "And of course, this one was unbelievable from the weather. The weather was horrible here, which we didn’t know about and we got stuck."

The National Weather Service reported a winter storm on Monday left nearly 10 inches of snow in parts of Virginia, Washington D.C., Maryland and New Jersey, paralyzing roadways and mass transit for the entire region.

Czeczil said she woke up in Richmond around 4 a.m. Tuesday and remained there for hours as the storm raged.

"It’s a little lonely," she said of her ride back to New York. "I want to be home and I want to do my own thing."

Czeczil, a secretary at Long Island University, prefers taking the train when she travels to Florida to see her only sibling. Czeczil said she usually travels to see her sister twice a year for two weeks but decided to stay for just a week this time due to work.

"I’m afraid of flying," she said, laughing. "I don’t love it because I want to get where I am, but I don’t fly, so I have no other choice."

Czeczil said Amtrak staff has provided meals to passengers and her cabin has remained warm. She’s already told her employer about her delay.

Unsettled weather may continue in the mid-Atlantic come Wednesday, as the weather service reports light freezing rain for the Northeast. But by that time, Czeczil will hopefully be home in Hicksville.

"My neighbor is holding all my mail," she said. "I don’t want to get home too much later than what I am. I have to work tomorrow."

As for her next trip, Czeczil said, despite her recent adventure, she will keep riding the rails.