The woman, a passenger aboard Amtrak Train 7 on February 18, began to miscarry while the train was in a rural area between Whitefish and Libby, Mont.

Crew members, who were veterans of Amtrak's PREPARE classes and had been trained to handle onboard emergencies, sprang into action, according to Amtrak Assistant Superintendent Timothy A. Branson, who also was aboard the train.

Conductor Joseph S. Loran, a member of UTU Local 117 in Vancouver, Wash., assessed the situation and immediately called engineer Aaron Rowe, asking him to radio for emergency assistance, Branson said. The situation was complicated by the train's location in the Flathead Tunnel, but the crew remained calm until radio communication could be established.

Because the train was at least 45 minutes away from a medical center, the engineer, working with BNSF dispatcher Gary Armitage and chief dispatcher Jack Miller, arranged to meet an ambulance just outside Riverview. "With the assistance of a deputy sheriff from Lincoln County and a BNSF special agent, the ambulance arrived at the same time as the train," said Branson.

Meanwhile, Brother Loran had located a passenger, Dr. Debora Bley, who began attending to the woman. Loran, along with assistant conductor Phillip Q. Brown, also a member of Local 117, and Lead Service Attendant Lois Christerson brought first-aid supplies, gloves, towels and water to Dr. Bley, who grew concerned over the passenger's loss of blood and weakening pulse.

A well-prepared ambulance crew from Libby arrived at the meeting point, administered oxygen, started an I.V. solution, and rushed the patient to a hospital in time to save her life, said Branson.