During more than 20 hours on a siding in the South Carolina woods, fears of a possible hostage situation have spread among American train passengers.

Dozens of travelers called police Tuesday after the Amtrak train remained stationary for hours.

They complained about faeces in the corridors, hunger and the alleged ban on leaving the wagons.

As Amtrak announced on Wednesday, the car train that left Virginia on Monday evening (local time) was diverted to Florida.

Due to an accident on the route, he was later temporarily parked at Denmark in southern South Carolina.

The company rejected the allegations that the approximately 550 passengers were not sufficiently informed by the train staff and therefore feared that they might be taken hostage.

On Wednesday morning, the train finally pulled into Sanford, in the Sunshine State of Florida, about 1,300 kilometers from Virginia - after a total of 37 hours.