Passengers stranded on East Coast main line as train hits object on track (From The Northern Echo)

Passengers stranded on East Coast main line as train hits object on track

3:36pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in News By Stuart Arnold

PASSENGERS were left stranded on a train for two hours after it hit an object on the track.

The 6.30am Newcastle to Kings’ Cross service broke down in the Potters Bar area, in Hertfordshire, at about half past nine on Wednesday morning.

About 160 people were on board. The incident caused delays of up to an hour for other services on the East Coast Mainline, along with a number of timetable cancellations and short notice alterations.

Damage was also caused to points on the track – which were later repaired – affecting services in both directions.

There were reports that equipment had fallen off the back of the train, although this was not confirmed by either train operator East Coast or Network Rail, which is investigating.

The train was stuck for two hours, an hour and-a-half of which was while it was in a tunnel.

Northern Echo editor Peter Barron, who was travelling to a meeting in London and was onboard the service, said: “It was very frustrating, but people were very calm.

“There was nothing any of us could do and we had no means of communication. Some people missed flights as a result – there was a chap in front of me who missed a connecting flight to Bangladesh.”

The train eventually was able to be moved at low speed to New Barnet station, where passengers transferred to another train to complete their journeys.

Both East Coast and Network Rail apologised for the inconvenience caused. The problems caused were exacerbated by a broken rail at nearby Hertford North, which is on a route which would have been used to divert services.

East Coast said passengers could claim compensation for the delay by picking up a form from any staffed station or by downloading it from the website eastcoast.co.uk