Amtrak commuters waiting to get to New York's Penn Station from Rhinecliff Wednesday morning likely never imagined just how huge a wave of snow an approaching train could kick up.
But in a video posted online Wednesday, it was obvious the avalanche was coming.
The giant snow shower covered commuters standing on the Rhinecliff station platform Wednesday morning. The man who shot the video above, Craig Oleszewski, told News 4 it appeared the train overshot the platform by a bit.
Another witness said some people were knocked to the ground.
Videos of the snowy onslaught made rounds on social media as commuters at Penn Station weighed in.
"I would have ran! I would have ran immediately," said Jesse Lewis of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
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Jesse Lewis questioned the speed of the train as it approached the mound of snow in front of the platform.
"He looks like he's approaching that station too fast for the conditions," said Lewis.
Amtrak, in a statement Thursday, said the train "was traveling at the authorized speed" and that the train's engineer followed applicable rules. "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."
Railroad expert Gus Ubaldi told News 4 over the phone Wednesday he believes commuters shouldn't have been allowed to stand so close to the tracks, much less record video.
"The railroad should know what happens. At least make some sort of announcement," he said.
