Posted on 06/24/2005 3:01:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Rail passengers were forced to smash windows to escape sweltering heat yesterday when around 400 people were trapped for two hours on three trains because of a power fault.
Several people suffered heat exhaustion when the 15.55 GNER train from Newcastle to King's Cross ground to a halt near Conington just outside Peterborough at 5.25pm after another train brought down an overhead power cable.
Also disrupted were the midday service from Glasgow to King's Cross and the 16.30 from King's Cross to Edinburgh, which brought down the sagging power cable just outside Huntingdon station.
Other services were severely disrupted along the East Coast mainline, and commuters were stuck inside the carriages because rail safety procedures dictate that doors must stay locked until an all-clear is given. But with the power down, the air-conditioning was affected and temperatures inside soared.
According to one passenger, the temperature inside the carriages rose to 115F and people began to panic and pass out.
Michael Steed, 70, who was travelling from York, said: "It was dreadful. At first everyone was quite cheerful but then we were all in a lot of discomfort. People were fainting and repeatedly pulling the emergency cord. Eventually a woman having a panic attack grabbed the emergency hammer and broke through the window."
Initially, those on the 15.55 train, which was full, were able to buy water and drinks but supplies soon ran out leaving them without water. There were reports that bottles of champagne were handed out to passengers to help quench their thirst.
Passengers were advised not to leave the trains as the drop from door to track can be up to eight feet and they were told a replacement diesel engine was on its way.
Tim Jones, 37, a marketing manager from Brighton, said after two hours of sitting in stifling heat people were starting to panic. "The temperature must have got to 120F so it was starting to get a bit scary. Eventually the staff were starting to open the doors but by then people were taking matters into their own hands.
"There were elderly people and pregnant women on there and so for them it was very frightening.
"It was very unpleasant on board to say the least. But once people had started smashing windows it operated the emergency brakes and the train couldn't move even when they'd brought a diesel train in to tow it."
A GNER spokesman described it as a major incident. At least two trains were stuck at Conington where four ambulances, two fire engines and police gave emergency treatment. John Neish, assistant divisional officer with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "As the overhead power was off, the air-conditioning on the trains was affected and had switched off. Reserve electricity supplies are saved for vital things like safety lights but unfortunately air-conditioning is not covered.
"The heat inside must have been incredibly uncomfortable, if not unbearable. The 300 to 400 passengers on board showed a typically British spirit."
He said there were up to eight casualties suffering from heat exhaustion and several suffering breathing difficulties due to asthma.
A Network Rail spokesman said: "Engineers are working through the night to try and make sure services are back to normal in the morning."
Unreal!
Say what you will about Mr. Mussolini, but he broke the trains' windows on time.
As a frequent user of the system, I can tell you that after a distinctly messy decade following privatisation, there have been slow but distinct signs of improvement in the last year or so. This is particularly true in my own neck of the woods (the south west). One of the problems of this kind of incident is that the modern rolling stock is all fitted with sealed windows and dependent on aircon, so things inevitably get unpleasant if there's a power failure.
Well, I'm glad to hear that.
It was strikes, bad service, increased fares, etc.....
I guess media outrage in this instance might be tempered by media awareness of Sod's Law. It was inevitable that something like this should happen yesterday, the hottest day of the year. (I was on my mountain bike up on Exmoor yesterday, and even that was pretty insufferable). But the media were only too aware also that today would be the opening day of the Glastonbury Festival: so it was equally inevitable, and has indeed come to pass, that the weather would break with torrential downpours to generate the usual, gleefully awaited 'Glastonbury Mudbath' images.
I hear ya. Loud and clear!
Great point!
And you don't have a lot of air conditioning, do you?
Take care.
Yeah. They sat and stared at each other for two hours, waiting for someone ELSE to bail them out.
Calling Nancy Pelosi, there are worse thing that Gitmoe, you dunce.
I would not have waited until the temps reached 115 to break out.
I've travelled on those trains. Bad engineering is exactly right. They're designed to ram as many people in as feasible, kind of like a budget airline. The air-con almost invariably breaks if temperatures go about 70F and there are no windows. The toilets have an electronic door, that breaks. So it's entirely feasible when the train itself breaks to be stuck in the middle of nowhere on a hopelessly overcrowded train with no toilets or airconditioning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.