Passengers were 'using train tracks as toilets' after getting stuck on a cold, dark train for over three hours.
Hundreds in west London were stuck for more than three hours while receiving no information from rail operators, according to images and footage shared on social media on Thursday (7 December).
Some reported that they were unable to go to the toilet.
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National rail, Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services were all disrupted as the London Paddington to Reading line was closed off.
Celebrities including musician James Blunt and TV presenter Rachel Riley were also affected by the disruption.
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Blunt posted on X: “Been stuck somewhere outside Paddington for close to 4 hours now. Out of peanuts and wine”, while Riley wrote: “Nearly 4 hours after we got on, we’re getting off the Elizabethline, woohoo!”
Comedian Paul Chowdhry also tweeted: "My friend @madrisimo77 has been stuck on the Elizabeth Line for almost 3 hours.
"People are using train tracks as toilets, with some even using their seats.
"And he just became a British citizen after immigrating from Bangladesh. Welcome to England, mate. @TfL."
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"lmao Elizabeth Line is awful. It's taken 3 hours to evacuate people from the train," another passenger wrote.
"Elizabeth Line is just insane!!!!!! It took over 3 hours to evacuate people and I was one of them! Can’t believe this happened and in the they will charge you over £15 at 2 am, right!" someone else said.
It seems that the issue was due to a fault with overhead cables in the Ladbroke Grove area.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’ve had to stop all services while our engineers work as fast as they can to fix the issue. Our teams are also working with train operators to assist people on the trains affected.
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“We’d urge people onboard to follow all the advice from staff while this incident is ongoing.
“Anyone planning travel tonight should check National Rail Enquiries for the latest on the disruption.”
A TfL spokesperson, said at the time: “We’re sorry that the damage caused to Network Rail’s overhead power linesby another rail operator’s train has caused significant disruption to our Elizabeth line customers as well as all train operators out of London Paddington.
“We’re working together with response teams across partners to recover trains and get everyone home as quickly as we can.
“Network Rail are working urgently to repair the power lines and we’d encourage all customers to check before they travel over the next few days while they do this.”
Anish Vij