A man reading passengers from the Bible sparked a security scare on a commuter train into London this man.
Power was turned off on a line between Wimbledon and London Waterloo after the man stood up and started shouting about the ‘sins’ of homosexuality.
A witness who was on the train said there was a ‘commotion’ and a ‘crush’ when the man started reading loudly from the Bible.
He told the BBC that another passengers told the man to stop because he was ‘scaring people.
Some passengers forced open doors and jumped on to the track, causing huge disruption to South Western Railway (SWR) services to and from London Waterloo, the UK’s busiest station.
Passengers praised a guard who calmed down the man and led him off the train. One said the guard dealt with the situation with ‘compassion, restraint and bravery’.
SWR services had already been disrupted because of an earlier points problem affecting five platforms at Waterloo, just weeks after a multimillion pound improvement project was completed.
Some services were cancelled or delayed by more than an hour, with disruption continuing until the afternoon.
Mick Cash, leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: ‘Once again the guard has stepped in and calmed a potentially dangerous situation in an exemplary and professional manner.
‘Panic could have broken out but for the guard’s calm and measured response.
‘This was a packed passenger train at the height of the rush hour and illustrates just why RMT members are fighting so hard to keep the guard on South Western Railway services.’
Union members on SWR are currently voting on whether to strike in a dispute over guards on trains.
Meanwhile, Southern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink services were also disrupted because of over-running engineering work.