No injuries after train stopped in Red Wing due to suspicious packages report

Gracie Stockton & Rebecca Omastiak

[anvplayer video=”5071224″ station=”998122″]

No injuries were reported after an Amtrak train on its way from Seattle to a final destination of Chicago made an unexpected stop in Red Wing due to a report of suspicious packages onboard.

According to the Red Wing Police Department, officers received a report at about 2:04 p.m. Wednesday that two abnormal packages were found on the train.

Officers secured the area and moved train passengers to a safe location, police said. Red Wing police officers and firefighters removed the packages and confirmed there was no threat to the public.

An earlier version of this report appears below.

A train is delayed in Red Wing due to police activity, according to Amtrak.

First responders on the scene of a stopped Amtrak train in Red Wing on Nov. 17, 2021.[Jon Murphy/KSTP-TV]

Empire Builder Train 8 departed from Seattle Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in Winona at 10:04 a.m. Wednesday. However, the train is running almost eight hours behind schedule due to police activity, Amtrak said.

Amtrak confirmed to KSTP that the train was stopped due to unattended luggage which required first responders to sweep the train. The extended delay is due to the type of law enforcement needed to perform the sweep had to be called in from either St. Paul or Rochester, a spokesperson from Amtrak said.

The train had scheduled stops Wednesday morning across Wisconsin and was scheduled to arrive at its final destination — Chicago’s Union Station — at around 4 p.m. Its current estimated arrival in Chicago is 11 p.m.

At 5:30 p.m., the City of Red Wing said the incident was ongoing and that police and fire were working on the active scene. They will provide more information when it becomes available.

As of 9:00 p.m., the train was still on hold in Red Wing, according to Amtrak.

This is a developing situation. Stay with KSTP.com as we work to learn more.