Passengers endured more rail chaos after a new high-speed Hitachi train broke down in Devon leaving hundreds stranded for six hours without rescue.
The 12.57pm Penzance to London Paddington express service came to a halt on the line north of Exeter, Devon, on Thursday evening.
Tired and frustrated passengers waited four hours before another train was brought in to rescue them and return them to Exeter St David’s railway station – where there was a lack of taxis to take them on to hotels.
Passengers endured more rail chaos after a new high-speed Hitachi train broke down in Devon leaving hundreds stranded for six hours without rescue. The 12.57pm Penzance to London Paddington express service came to a halt on the line north of Exeter on Thursday evening
Angry passengers took to social media to blast GWR over their ordeal, with one suggesting her husband could have made a transatlantic flight during the delay. She said: ‘My husband could have flown to New York quicker’
Angry passengers took to social media to blast GWR over their ordeal, with one suggesting her husband could have made a transatlantic flight during the delay.
She said: ‘My husband could have flown to New York quicker’.
Passenger Mary Knight was travelling to Sussex with her husband and said: ‘It took an awfully long time before they decided to evacuate the train.’
She said up to 400 passengers on the train had to move from one half of the train to the other before then queuing the entire length of it before eventually getting off and boarding the rescue train.
A male passenger said: ‘The train came t a sop very suddenly. I knew it was an emergency stop.’
He claimed that earlier the doors would not close causing another 50 minute delay.
The brand new top of the range train broken down around 5.15pm and many passengers did not get away from Exeter St Davids station until midnight
He said the rescue process was ‘very long winded’ and could have been done ‘sooner than they did’.
Another angry man said: ‘I got on at Exeter. I know it is not their fault the train broke down but they could have done the rescue a lot earlier.
‘We had to wait three or four hours. It was a bit of a joke.’
The brand new top of the range train broken down around 5.15pm and many passengers did not get away from Exeter St Davids station until midnight.
Great Western Railway thanked passengers for their patience and are offering full refunds and the offer of a free journey.
A spokesman for GWR said: ‘We’d to like to thank our customers for their patience following a broken down train in the Exeter area last night’
A spokesman for GWR said: ‘We’d to like to thank our customers for their patience following a broken down train in the Exeter area last night.
‘While there will be a full investigation to find out exactly what happened, our priority last night was to get customers on-board on their way as quickly and safely as possible.
‘We used another train to get them where they needed to go, with staff handing out hot food and drink to customers, and we had additonal staff at Reading and London Paddington to help them complete their journeys.
‘We have offered everyone who was on board the train a full refund as well as a free journey with us at a later date.’