Avanti West Coast are under fire after passengers on a train bound for Glasgow were 'abandoned' at Carlisle station in the freezing cold in the middle of the night - with some ending up sleeping on the station floor.
The passengers were on a London Euston service to Glasgow Central which had departed the capital at 8pm last night heading north of the border.
One passenger tweeted that they were then "kicked off" the train at Carlisle after midnight, before being "asked to queue for hours" while the rail operator attempted to arrange onward transport to Glasgow.
A fellow passenger took to Twitter to criticise Avanti West Coast for not providing overnight accommodation for people "who can't stand on their feet", while another expressed her concerns that "people will need medical help soon" due hypothermia.
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Pictures posted online show passengers queuing at the station, with one passenger lying down on the floor at the entrance to the station.
Avanti West Coast issued an apology last night and tweeted they were 'trying their best' to organise rail replacement vehicles for the passengers, amid claims that only four taxis had appeared in the two hours following the cancellation of the service.
Reports of twitter suggest passengers were still waiting for a taxi around 3:30am this morning, with one passenger alleging that they were denied the chance to return to the warmth of the empty train because the train staff had been given the first taxi home.
Passenger Gillian McLees said some people ended up sleeping on the floor of the station, including one elderly woman who was comforted by her fellow passengers.
She told Glasgow Live: The debacle was a nightmare. Five minutes before Carlisle we were told we'd have to get off at Carlisle as the train couldn't go any further as there was no space for the train at Glasgow Central.
"They left us standing in the freezing cold. We were put off the train about midnight and then I left the station just round about 3am. They ended up sending taxis down from Glasgow. It was ridiculous. It was hours just sitting in the station.
"There were one or two people sleeping. One old lady had been travelling back to Glasgow from India. She was obviously struggling with the temperature and ended up lying down, we had to put stuff under her and cover her. We ended up asking that she went in the next taxi, as we didn't think she would survive the night. It was proper freezing and they didn't have any heating."
Avanti West Coast have apologised to those caught up in last night's disruption.
A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast said: "We can only apologise to those caught up in last night’s disruption. Our customers have the right to deserve better and we will be conducting an immediate review into what happened.
“We would also like to thank those customers for their patience and encourage them to contact us to ensure they receive compensation for their journey.”
