Passenger's harrowing first-hand account of Lewisham train 'from hell' which became stuck for four hours

Passengers being helped from a train near Lewisham station
PA

A passenger has penned a detailed first-hand account of his experience on board a train from “hell” which became stuck in freezing weather for four hours near Lewisham.

Robin Clarke was travelling home from London Bridge on Friday and managed to squeeze onto the packed 16.35 train Southeastern service for Dartford via Bexleyheath.

Over the course of the next few hours, exhausted and emotional passengers became more and more desperate in cramped conditions with no lights, heating or toilets, with a small group even forcing their way off the train, Mr Clarke wrote in a lengthy blog post detailing his experience.

He wrote that, having initially squeezed his way onto the train, he managed to fit into a “tiny space” inside the doorway as it immediately “started to get hard to breathe”.

Passengers jumped from trains and walked down tracks near Lewisham station
PA

He said: “I kept telling myself this is only a 15 minute journey… little did I know what was coming.”

The train came to a standstill outside Lewisham station because the one in front, which was reportedly an older model, broke down. And due to ice forming on the tracks engineers were unable to get it moving.

It remained motionless for the next two hours, Mr Clarke wrote, and with no toilet facilities, people “started to face the realisation that they will need to either find a bottle or face the humiliation of wetting yourself.”

He said: “My calves were on fire from the awkward position I was standing in and the need for basic amenities like a toilet break or a drink were all I could think about.”

Emergency workers at Lewisham station on Friday
PA

And soon he could hear “several people in the carriage crying and the smell of urine had become apparent.”

Amid regular updates from the driver about the situation, Southeastern cut the power on the line in order to de-ice it and the temperature in the train carriages began to plummet, he said.

“Most people’s legs had seized up and I’d lost the feeling in pretty much all my extremities,” he wrote.

“The carriage was beginning to get very very cold without any heating and some of the older passengers were visibly shivering.”

Rail engineers at Lewisham station after passengers frustrated by delays jumped from trains
PA

Eventually, in desperation, a small group of younger passengers pulled the emergency door release and clambered out onto the track, Mr Clarke said.

However with high fences on either side the only place they could walk was track where oncoming trains would come.

They climbed back on the train but this only delayed things even further as it was again announced that the power would have to be cut off.

But Mr Clarke wrote it was only after four hours that an announcement came from a Southeastern manager saying "they were trying to figure out a way to get us off the train".

Rail engineers and emergency workers at Lewisham station on Friday
PA

The experience had become like “downright torture”, he said, before emergency services eventually arrived to help people to safety.

Police threatened people with arrest after they disembarked the train outside of a station.

A Southeastern spokesman said: “We'd like to sincerely apologise to all our passengers who were caught up in the disruption and especially those stranded on busy trains.

"We understand the conditions were extremely difficult for them whilst we dealt with major disruption caused by ice affecting the power supply to our trains. Railway staff were working exceptionally hard to keep services moving, despite the challenging conditions.

"On multiple occasions people evacuated from trains against the advice of railway staff or the British Transport Police, presenting a significant risk to their safety.

"The safety of our passengers and employees is our foremost priority, and with people on the track Network Rail had no choice but to switch off the power supply until people cleared the track, which prolonged the situation further.

"Southeastern and Network Rail will be appointing an independent investigator to carry out a full review of the events last night. We have also informed the independent Rail Accident Investigation Branch of the circumstances and invited them to carry out their own investigation.

"We will be providing compensation for those people directly affected on those trains. We have also been doubling Delay Repay compensation payouts for passengers delayed on our services over the past few days."

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