Stranded train is back on track

An Amtrak spokeswoman says the train that was forced to stay parked overnight on snowy tracks high in the Sierra Nevada was back on its way to Chicago early Saturday.

Two trains carrying about 400 passengers were initially stranded Friday night after a large snowplow fell through a trestle and onto the tracks, blocking the rail. One San Francisco area-bound train was pulled to Reno, and its 165 passengers were put up in a hotel or bused to their destinations, said Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero.

The other train, which was headed from the Bay Area to Chicago, remained in the mountains. About 60 people were taken by bus back to the San Francisco Bay Area overnight and 155 chose to stay on the heated train and sleep either in their seats or in reserved sleeping cars.

The tracks were cleared early Saturday and the train got going again just before 8 a.m. The passengers are scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Monday morning, about 16 hours behind schedule.