UK: Passengers break out of stalled train

[John Ashworth]

Passengers break out of stuck train in Cambridgeshire

BBC 29 October 2010 Last updated at 18:10 GMT

Passengers forced open the doors of a train after it broke down near a Cambridgeshire village station.

The First Capital Connect Service to Cambridge from King's Cross, stopped outside Foxton, near Cambridge, shortly before 1700 BST.

About 15 people broke open the doors and walked along the track to the station.

The remaining passengers waited on board to be collected. British Transport Police attended the scene.

A spokesman for First Capital Connect said problems with overhead power cables had halted the train, which also called at stops in Hertfordshire.


Passengers locked in stuck train in Cambridgeshire

BBC 30 October 2010 Last updated at 12:06 GMT

Passengers who stayed on a broken down train while others forced open the doors were later locked on board for more than three hours.

Police were called when frustrated passengers broke out of one of the trains

The First Capital Connect Service to Cambridge from King's Cross stopped outside Foxton, near Cambridge, shortly before 1700 BST on Friday.

About 15 people broke open the doors and walked along the track to the station, which was just 500m away.

The remaining passengers were locked on board by a rail official.

Bus journey

A passenger who stayed on the train said they were threatened with arrest if they left.

A rail official then locked the doors to ensure no-one else could get out, he added.

First Capital Connect spokesman Roger Perkins said the track leading to Foxton station was flooded in places and unsafe to walk down.

Instead two trains were brought alongside to evacuate passengers through the cab door, he said.

The first train took about 100 passengers the six miles back to Royston in Hertfordshire at about 1830 BST, and the second took another 274 people at about 1945 BST.

The last train returned to Royston at 2035 BST where 28 buses took the passengers back to Cambridge.

A spokesman for First Capital Connect said problems with overhead power cables had halted the train.

British Transport Police were called to the scene to deal with crowd management.