RAIL chiefs today faced demands for an urgent investigation into the "nightmare journeys" suffered by thousands of passengers trapped for about four hours on trains in west London.
Seven trains - four Elizabeth line, two Heathrow Express and a Great Western Railway intercity service were stranded when the GWR train crashed into broken power lines near Ladbroke Grove at about 6.30pm last night.
Passengers on the packed Elizabeth line trains, including families heading into central London for Christmas shows, travellers who had landed at Heathrow and TV presenter Rachel Riley, were eventually led along the tracks to safety at about 10.30pm.
They had been left in the cold and dark for hours as the on-board power failed, with the driver of one east-bound train telling passengers he could not get through to the control centre. It is understood drivers on tracks west of Paddington rely on advice from Network Rail's signalling centre in Swindon. Transport lack of on-board information. Some passengers had to be lowered on to the tracks to urinate as TfL's £1 billion fleet of trains - which can carry in excess of 1,000 passengers were deliberately built without lavatories.
London TravelWatch, the capital's public transport watchdog, said a "detailed investigation was needed as soon as possible" into the "nightmare journeys".
Denne historien er fra December 08, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 08, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?
A post-ageing world is just around the corner, says longevity scientist AUBREY DE GREY, and it’s going to change the way we live
Hidden London
SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER
How Christian Louboutin fell in love with Melides in Portugal
The wild beauty of this seaside village charmed the French fashion designer so much that he made it his home
Actor Millie Bobby Brown romances in Hyde Park, feasts at Sheesh and buys thelot at Harrods
Interview with Actor Millie Bobby Brown
How will Arteta manage without influential Edu?
Arsenal need smooth transition between eras just like Man City
"I had no one in Manchester apart from my PlayStation"
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a young man rated among the country's most promising footballers when Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2019.
The battle for the soul of Soho
Inside the war between London's porn baron family and the council they say is killing the vibe
At the table: Sad steaks seasoned with despair
Fetch the smelling salts, you're in for a shock: A Restaurant Critic Hates a Famously Terrible Restaurant. Low-hanging fruit? Perhaps.
Class portrait Nobody else writes about middle England so acutely
Tessa Hadley's first novella depicts women in refreshing ways
How a tiny cult radio station in Hackney took over the world
I think the most obscure place I've had a listener email from so far was probably a guy in the Yukon,\" laughs Flo Dill, the host of NTS Radio's flagship morning show.
