Hundreds of people were left stranded in Herefordshire after a Transport for Wales train broke down near Hereford train station on Tuesday, January 10. Passengers headed for south Wales told WalesOnline how the train gradually slowed down before all of the lights went out on the 2.30pm service from Manchester Piccadilly which was due to terminate at Cardiff Central.
Transport for Wales initially tweeted concerned travellers telling them the service should resume at around 6.30pm, but more than three hours later the situation hadn’t changed. Passengers on the broken down trains and those on services behind them were advised to use replacement bus services.
Annoyed passengers had to endure three hours on the unlit service until they were reached by a rescue train at 8.45pm, but that wasn’t the end of their ordeal. They were then told to head to Leominster on the opposite track and wait for a bus to collect them.
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One passenger described a “stressful” scene at Leominster train station when the replacement bus service arrived full of people who had boarded from cancelled services behind the broken down train. Aly Porter, from Newport, who had been on the broken down train, explained her frustration.
“It was very stressful to be left with no communication, particularly at Leominster where there were no staff and the phones for Transport for Wales kept ringing out,” Aly said. "When the bus arrived the driver didn’t know what to do.
"There were six people allowed on it. All of the trains behind us had been severely delayed or cancelled so they were picking people up at Ludlow, then heading to Leominster and dropping people off at Hereford.
"By the time the buses were reaching Leominster they were full. We had to give up and others that were stuck started making their own arrangements.
"I wonder what happened to everyone else. We felt lucky because we were travelling for work and work sorted us out in a hotel.” While Aly’s train from Leominster to Newport was also delayed on Wednesday morning, she eventually arrived at home.
A spokesman for Transport for Wales said: "Due to a mechanical failure on the 1430 Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff service near Leominster, there was severe disruption to services on the Marches Line on Tuesday. Due to the complex nature of the issue the train could not be moved for some time. Passengers were provided with refreshments and kept up to date of the situation by TfW staff on board.
“The line was then closed for a short period to allow passengers to be safely taken off the service and replacement road transport was put in place, where available. We understand incidents such as this, although rare, are incredibly frustrating for passengers and we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience.”
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