Amtrak Train Showers Bystanders With Snow After Hitting Snowbank At Station

Trains have places to be and people to transport. And apparently nothing, including a bit of excess snow, will get in their ways.

Commuters waiting at a station in Rhinecliff, N.Y., found that out the hard way, as a train headed for New York’s Penn Station collided with a mound of on the track, leaving them covered in snow, WNBC-TV reports. The scene was captured on video, and looks pretty remarkable in slo-mo.

Clearly, this was one of those times where it might have been best to leave your phone in your pocket.

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Witnesses reportedly said the force of the snow wave knocked some people to the ground.

Some have questioned whether the train was traveling too fast given the conditions, but Amtrak said in a statement the engineer wasn’t speeding and was adhered to policy, according to WNBC-TV.

“We always advise customers to stand back from the platform edge as trains approach and this was an unusual occurrence considering the large amount of snow on the tracks,” Amtrak said.

It’s worth noting, while some were close too it, nobody in the videos were standing past the yellow line near the edge. Also, considering the frozen tidal wave covered the entire platform, likely the only way standing back would have helped was if people waited in the parking lot.