Passengers stuck on Amtrak Auto Train after freight derailment causes 'significant delays'

Passengers traveling on an Amtrak Auto Train from a Washington, D.C., suburb Monday evening expected to arrive in the Orlando area by Tuesday morning. But their planned 17-hour journey currently has no end in sight after a freight derailment caused significant delays to the Amtrak trip.

The train was detoured off its normal route due to the derailment of a CSX freight Monday night and has been stopped in Denmark, South Carolina, while waiting for a new crew to arrive, Amtrak said.

"Tuesday's southbound Amtrak Auto Train has been impacted by significant delays due to a CSX freight derailment in South Carolina," Amtrak said in a statement. "Customers have been provided meals, snack packs and beverages."

The company did not provide a timeline on when the train should resume its journey.

Passengers are apparently calling 911 from the train, according to several videos obtained by ABC News in which a conductor can be heard asking people to stop calling police.

"For those of you that are calling the police, we are not holding you hostage," a conductor can be heard over the loudspeaker. "We are giving you all the information in which we have. We are sorry about the inconvenience."

The conductor can also be heard telling people not to open their windows to smoke on the train.

The Amtrak Auto Train train, which departed Lorton, Virginia, at 5 p.m. Monday, was initially scheduled to arrive in Sanford, Florida, by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Only a few certified crews are able to operate the Auto Train, which carries passengers and their vehicles daily between the two destinations.

The CSX freight train collided with an unoccupied vehicle on the tracks in Lake City, South Carolina, shortly before 11 p.m. Monday, CSX said in a statement. No injuries were reported.

Auto Train service on Tuesday was canceled, while Silver Meteor and Silver Star trains that departed on Monday are operating on a detour and missing stops due to the derailment, Amtrak said.