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Massive disruption at Victoria (London) last night Sunday. At about 18.00 ex-Brighton train just entering the station came to a sharp juddering halt. Indistinct announcement from the driver. Then the lights dimmed out. And there we stayed for TWO hours. Could easily have walked onto the platform. The front end of the train was at the platform. So WTF? Appalling attitude by the staff keeping us locked up for TWO hours just outside the station, no announcements, no air-con, no water. Eventually the lights came back on, and the train continued into the platform. No apologies from any staff, no delay repay, no water, no ‘are you OK?’, and TWO hours delayed with connections well missed. And now no info. on the web as to what happened. Does anyone know?

I can't offer any thoughts on what might have caused this very bad experience, but it's a disgrace that the initial coming to a stand of the train was made many times worse by what happened thereafter.  Whatever happened to nous?

Sorry to hear that. That's poor.

Mark

There was a fatality last night, your train would've lost power when the power to the 3rd rail was switched off. When the train loses power on board facilities do stop working as only so long the trains battery can handle on board services. As for your other experiences, couldn't say, be worth sending an email to Southern.

Heard it was one of those eco protesters glued themselves to the track, then got hit. Meanwhile staff did sfa to help passengers when they finally got released after two hours entrapment.

All but the very smallest and simplest public buildings are required to have emergency lighting that operates for three hours in case of power failure.
Yet on trains this seems to be optional or a low priority.

Is anyone able to confirm or deny this ?

IF TRUE, I am appalled. I have considerable sympathy with the aims and concerns of Extinction Rebellion and related groups. But I can not support the disruption of public transport. If these groups are serious about minimising fossil fuel use then they should be encouraging use of public transport, not disrupting this.

There were several cancellations during the afternoon attributed to "high winds", presumably as a precaution rather than actual stuff on the track (which is given a different label". But from just after 6 pm, a flood of cancellations due to "trespass". That kind of thing often gets reported, even at a lower level of disruption. So, whatever the specific cause, the lack of news items on it is surprising.

I can't speak for all train types, but certainly with the newer models I'm familiar with, there is lighting that will stay on, but you're looking at about an hour, or 2 - possibly longer with intervention to try and reduce load on the batteries. Control teams are well aware of limitations in this respect though for stranded trains and would take it into account when making decisions in regards to arranging evacuation or train to train rescues.

‘The flood of cancellations’ was due to the sole trespasser that caused our train to shudder to a halt just before the platform. All the other surrounding tracks had trains already parked at platforms, but the current to all of the tracks was switched off. Hence the ‘flood’ of cancellations - presumably all were departures. It seems that we were the only arrival directly affected. Quite why we could not have detrained from the front onto the nearest platform is a moot point, especially after the current had been switched off. One thing was the first announcement from the driver did not mention a ‘one under’ only a ‘trespasser.’ Apparently said ‘trespasser’ had either been hit by our train, or he was running around all over the tracks with the ‘emergency services’ in hot pursuit. From what the driver announced I got the impression that the ‘trespasser’ was deemed to be one of those eco loons.

A person had been electrocuted.  It takes time for the Police to release the scene and the body to be recovered. 

Thanks for the updates.

Sorry about that. But why were we not allowed to detrain at the platform since the current was switched off? And two hours to get a body off the tracks seems a very long time. Being electrocuted implies he / she was running all over the tracks for some reason.

"Keep them on the trains, no matter what" seems to be the general policy. If any passengers escape then blame the whole incident on "passenger action"

I can appreciate your frustration.  But, no, it's not a long time with the steps and stages to be gone through.  I thank goodness it's a rare occurrence and that means the people doing the job are not gone to be quick and slick - they'll be methodical and safe.  And they'll be in something of a state of shock themselves - something they don't want to induce in passengers too by having them walk past the scene.

If the front of the train was in a position to detrain passengers safely (even if slowly) it should have been done for both customer service and operational reasons (ignoring them might produce an action by frustrated passengers which could produce further problems for the railway). Is it not standard police policy to remove from the site those not directly involved in an incident? I am also not convinced by the suggestion that the scene might be managed by those who had been potentially traumatised by the incident. It would have been managed by the police and an operational duty manager. From what has been said this appears another example of people in control reluctant to make a decision. BUT as so little detail has been officially released one needs to exercise some caution. Were the events such that some confidentiality was needed or were they too embarrassing to reveal. I would really like to know.

Was the front of the train actually in the platform ? If it was than passengers should have been allowed to alight. Keeping them on the train under such circumstances sounds like a case of "because we can".

If the front of the train was not in the platform, then how far was it ?

This sort of incident reinforces my long held view that ALL new and refurbished electric trains should include a diesel engine or a battery to permit of low speed operation when the wires come down, or the conductor rail ices up, or the traction current is turned off, or fails.

This thread really needs a photograph that shows the position of train and platform.

It sounds as though there may have been a need for privacy surrounding whatever happened, but, yes, compounded by a failure to keep everyone informed.

Having been on a somewhat busy late evening 158 on the GWML the driver of which brought the train to a very rapid halt, the train was at a stand for some time and several people were starting to make unhelpful comments. It was good to hear other passengers round on them and make it clear what they suspected had just happened, and the train manager was soon on hand, visited the cab and afterwards reassured everyone, before the train was taken forward to the next station about an hour late, by which time the majority were being pretty understanding and everyone was rightly subdued. Not a journey that I like to think back on.

Mark

Far too many questions to ponder over with only a very vague description from the OP.

IF it was that train that was involved directly in a fatality you can understand why it was not de-trained. 

If not, evacuation earlier might have been much better DEPENDING on how close the front of the train was to the platform.

IF it was a DOO service then a driver has an incredible amount to do and take in, especially if it was their train that hit the trespasser, and when the PA fails it can be difficult to walk through a train in such circumstances when there is no other way of keeping people informed.  It highlights how having a second member of staff on board is so useful in such situations.  If it wasn’t a DOO service then there in little or no excuse for not keeping passengers better informed.

Some modern EMU’s go into ‘load shedding’ quite quickly after power is cut to the train.  The PA should be one of the last things to go.  In such a scenario I would argue lighting is actually quite a low priority these days as pretty much everyone has a phone and/or watch with a torch.  That’s not to say that it wouldn’t be desirable to have longer lasting battery supplies or an emergency engine like the Class 801’s.

I don't see how any constructive criticism can be given when we don't know even if the train being discussed was the one involved. Please treat this like any other fatality & don't guess/comment when you don't know. THe dri8ver may have been affected & in deep stress. Therre may have been body parts visible from the front of the train & therefore seen by evacuees. We don't know!

As far as I can gather from the limited access to fault reports I have the person had not been "running around all over the tracks"  As to why the train you were on was not allowed to detrain, I do not know, the body on the line was reported by the Driver at the 'Country end of the platforms', if you were on that train the decision may have been made to keep the passengers on the train so as not to witness what was going on also the train may not have been fully platformed, the Driver is automatically removed from the scene to be interviewed and D&A tested as well as counselling, the area and driving cab would be secured as a potential crime scene.

Members of staff should been put on the train to explain what was happening and keep people updated

The definitive response from Southern is 28 Oct at 11:41
 
Dear Chris
 
Thank you for getting in touch regarding your recent journey from Brighton to London Victoria.

I'm sorry to hear that the train came to an abrupt holt and you were delayed for such a long time, I can imagine how frustrating this must have been.

I would like to help you with your complaint, however, in order to do this I require further information therefore please could you reply to my email with the departure time of this service so that I can locate the exact train.

Once I have this information I will be able to assist you further.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you again soon. 
 
Kind regards
Tara
Customer Relations Advisor