Dealing with stranded passengers after a major incident.

[MrToad]

My Father-in-law was involved in Clapham. He was thankfully not injured and was one of those that had to walk down the track away from the scene. He was directed up an embankment and caught a local bus - he said he was advised by the police to make his own way home. Instead he decided to travel across London and caught a train to Birmingham for a meeting. The police/railway authorities did not take his name or address and left him to his own devices - unimaginable these days.

Of course it was the days before mobile phones so the family were extremely concerned, especially because he did not go to his office near Victoria that day, and the person he shared an office with was also going to the meeting, so his phone went unanswered. It was only when he got to Birmingham he was advised of the seriousness of it all and decided to find a payphone. Because the trains home were stuffed, he went to Reading and my mother in law had to go and fetch him from there.

 

[andy33gmail]

My taxi all the way up the M1 ran the meter up to more than £900, and arrived at about 04:30.

Almost as much as the train ticket was in the first place then

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Nov 2025 ==

Certainly possible in a traditional cab (most of the time, as mentioned above, when using these for work I just get given a blank receipt to fill in what I want, on which I've always been honest but many wouldn't) but not if it's an Uber where you get a GPS tracked map on the receipt.

They can always drop you off en-route and continue to the station in that case, as has been done for me before

On that occasion there were other passengers, but he said he’d have driven empty to the station otherwise because of tracking

 

[Roger1973]

Based on experience just over 10 years ago when I was (on a casual basis) doing rail replacement bus control work -

Each TOC has a 24/7 control room, they will have either someone who can organise buses and coaches at fairly short notice, or sub-contract this to an organisation like First Transport Solutions or a large bus company, and the ability to put on an emergency service will be part of what they organise for.

They in turn will have 'out of hours' contact details for bus and coach operators and controllers. Bus and coach operators won't have large numbers of people sat on 'stand by' on paid time, but will have a number of people (casual drivers, other employees with the right licence) who can turn out and drive at short notice.

There was one time I got called out on a midweek afternoon - this was a major technical failure rather than an accident or anything like that. I can't remember now whether I got the call on the phone (they knew I didn't have a regular job at the time) or whether it was a text message to all saying 'anyone who can get to X location/s as soon as possible please phone us' and I was on my way within about 20 minutes. There were buses and coaches already there (it was about an hour's drive from home) when I got there, and I think it was a school day.

After Saturday's incident at Huntingdon, I'm fairly sure there were pictures of coaches moving stranded passengers being posted before midnight (I've no way of knowing exactly when the photo was taken) - the coach I recognised was from a Luton based operator.

Similarly, at a tangent, local authorities do emergency planning and staff that can be called on to deal with emergencies, and they will have emergency contacts for coach operators if there is an emergency that needs them. In spring 2014, some coach operators were on alert to evacuate some areas in the Thames Valley that were at risk of flooding (which ended up not being needed.)

 

[Roast Veg]

Almost as much as the train ticket was in the first place then

I know this is a joke, but in the interest of clarity I had a £55 advance fare. This was also refunded, making my personal compensation almost £1000.

After Saturday's incident at Huntingdon, I'm fairly sure there were pictures of coaches moving stranded passengers being posted before midnight (I've no way of knowing exactly when the photo was taken) - the coach I recognised was from a Luton based operator.

Coaches were provided from King's Cross to Peterborough until just after midnight to swallow up passengers who didn't abandon their journey. The last one left at a little after midnight, I believe, as a handful of travellers missed it and were added to our taxi queue.

 

[Taunton]

Press article on passenger actually injured in the Huntingdon attack who was travelling to a Ryanair flight being denied a fare refund, on a "we never do" basis

Airline refuses to refund train attack hero for flights to football match

Nottingham Forest fans and close friends of Mr Crean have called out the airline for their "shocking" treatment of the train attack hero

www.cambridge-news.co.uk

 

[andy33gmail]

Press article on passenger actually injured in the Huntingdon attack who was travelling to a Ryanair flight being denied a fare refund, on a "we never do" basis

Airline refuses to refund train attack hero for flights to football match

Nottingham Forest fans and close friends of Mr Crean have called out the airline for their "shocking" treatment of the train attack hero

www.cambridge-news.co.uk

Lack of judgement from a PR perspective for sure, but I don’t feel they were obliged to

I would have said his employer, his travel insurance and the courts system are all candidates to compensate for his financial and non-financial losses

 

[Starmill]

When staff are authorising taxis, if it's late at night, the policy is usually to take a home or accommodation address for the taxi, and not to drop someone off outside their long-closed local station with no nearby facilities at potentially 1am or something.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Nov 2025 ==

Coaches were arranged from Huntingdon, and there were pictures on the BBC of this being organised.

The availability of alternative transport is heavily dependent on day of the week, time of the day and location as well as demand from any other operators. It also takes a bit of time to get things in motion and for the coach / bus company to mobilise their staff - if indeed it is possible at all.

It's pretty rare for Stagecoach Rail Replacement to have no cover whatsoever, especially not for somewhere close to major cities like Huntingdon. Obviously emergency call out may be up to a couple of hours because the coaches do have to physically get there. They're not like some of the other groups (not looking at you, Arriva) who routinely just go "computer says no" to emergency requests.

 

[Simon75]

I went to Peartree railway station in Derby, not realising no trains stopped on a Saturday. When using the calling system ( East Midlands trains), they said no trains were running that day anyway, and a rail replacement was due. It never turned up, and I contacted them again and they booked me a taxi to where I was going to ( Stoke On Trent) for free

 

[harz99]

When staff are authorising taxis, if it's late at night, the policy is usually to take a home or accommodation address for the taxi, and not to drop someone off outside their long-closed local station with no nearby facilities at potentially 1am or something.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Nov 2025 ==


It's pretty rare for Stagecoach Rail Replacement to have no cover whatsoever, especially not for somewhere close to major cities like Huntingdon. Obviously emergency call out may be up to a couple of hours because the coaches do have to physically get there. They're not like some of the other groups (not looking at you, Arriva) who routinely just go "computer says no" to emergency requests.

Huntingdon is a large country town as is St.Neots. Even nearby Peterborough although a City isn't really major, and other than that you are talking Cambridge or Bedford so yes, it could quite easily be a couple of hours before coaches could be procured, however the biggest issue will mostly be staff to drive those coaches not vehicle availability.

 

[Starmill]

Huntingdon is a large country town as is St.Neots. Even nearby Peterborough although a City isn't really major, and other than that you are talking Cambridge or Bedford so yes, it could quite easily be a couple of hours before coaches could be procured, however the biggest issue will mostly be staff to drive those coaches not vehicle availability.

Cambridge, Bedford and Peterborough are all home to significant numbers of independent bus, coach and taxi operators. Stagecoach Rail Replacement already have positive relationships with several because they are the ones they contract with for LNER planned work in the area which happens fairly often. So in that sense they are major. Now obviously it's always more difficult late at night than in the morning but the point is they have the resources to act.

 

[Lucky1122]

I know that discussion re the Huntingdon incident has ended. Without getting stuck into any details about that and the related police operation, it did occur to me that there were a huge number of passengers on the train itself, and on all the trains either side that were turned back or halted. It would good to hear from anyone involved in the passenger handling operation, or anyone who witnessed it in order to understand how such things are dealt with. If the moderators think it's inappropriate to discuss this now, that's fine.

That’s an important point, handling stranded passengers after such incidents really tests coordination and communication. It’d be great to hear how support and updates were managed on the ground.

 

[fandroid]

I've described elsewhere being stranded at Brockenhurst due to some fault on the line towards Southampton. There were fairly large numbers of passengers being discharged by incoming trains which then headed back towards Bournemouth or Lymington. For a while the only info was word of mouth between passengers that if we could get a taxi SWR would refund us. Then a guy in SWR uniform turned up simultaneously with a stream of cars involving what looked like half of Southampton's mini-cab fleet. The staff member did a quietly effective job of prioritising the more vulnerable passengers and ensuring that all cabs left full. But there were never any useful pa announcements.

I was caught up yesterday in the Birmingham Cross-City South shutdown. All that was done were announcements that rail tickets were being accepted on X21 and X22 buses. We were left to find those for ourselves!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I was caught up yesterday in the Birmingham Cross-City South shutdown. All that was done were announcements that rail tickets were being accepted on X21 and X22 buses. We were left to find those for ourselves!

I used New St yesterday and while my journey was not affected I thought the information was pretty poor. It just said you could use National Express buses, which to someone who doesn't live in Birmingham would mean the big white coaches (which wouldn't have been accepting tickets nor probably going to any of the relevant places). It didn't say which routes to use for which places nor where to catch them.

 

[Starmill]

It's pretty important to use the names National Express West Midlands and National Express Coventry specifically for that reason.

 

[afc75]

I know that discussion re the Huntingdon incident has ended. Without getting stuck into any details about that and the related police operation, it did occur to me that there were a huge number of passengers on the train itself, and on all the trains either side that were turned back or halted. It would good to hear from anyone involved in the passenger handling operation, or anyone who witnessed it in order to understand how such things are dealt with. If the moderators think it's inappropriate to discuss this now, that's fine.

FWIW, i was held at Grantham (was travelling back to Chelmsford from Burnley via Leeds). Completed my journey on Sunday, booked taxi from Grantham 2 hotel i booked on the night. LNER agreed 2 pay both, still awaiting on Avanti 4 delay repay though.

 

[Mugby]

What form do taxi receipts usually take? I can't imagine all taxi operators are equipped to give out something tangible like a proper printed or written piece of paper which looks official and is indisputable?

 

[35B]

What form do taxi receipts usually take? I can't imagine all taxi operators are equipped to give out something tangible like a proper printed or written piece of paper which looks official and is indisputable?

My experience is that most drivers do have pads to write out receipts. And those that take cards can usually send an electronic receipt by text or email

 

[blimmo]

The last taxi receipt I received by email was just a document saying an amount and the name of the driver without even any indication it was for a taxi. This was (understandably) rejected by the bus company I was claiming from. I really like the idea of email receipts but they do mean I can't verify they're in a form that is acceptable while I still have a chance to fix it.

 

[fandroid]

Taxi drivers always have a pad of receipts as so many of their customers are travelling on expenses. However, as stated, the quality of the information provided can be minimal. Normally it's just the date, the cost and a signature. The best ones also have the name and address of the taxi company plus somewhere to describe the basic journey details.

 

[Starmill]

Taxis booked in an app generally, though not always, come with an option to get a formal invoice emailed. That doesn't help much in an area where there are few taxis and you can't book them online, or don't have internet access of course. Same for Hackneys, though in some areas it's obligatory for these to accept cards. Some taxi drivers do have a receipt printer now as they have a mobile card reader. Others take card payment via a phone and will email you a bill.

 

[Arty Morgan]

TOCs also train Rail Incident Support Staff to help in such incidents. We were also able to be deployed to other TOCs incidents not just our own. Armed with credit cards we could book hotels, flights, trains, taxis etc. We could arrange for hotels and food, toiletries and even locksmiths if a passenger couldn't access personal possessing and keys due to an incident. We could also pay for other people to come to them to assist if necessary. Another item covered was arranging medication if that was inaccessible but needed that day or night. Passengers cars were also considered if left at stations or in car parks elsewhere. Provided with ID and safety equipment it was quite a robust set up.

 

[MP33]

In the Huntingdon incident. It was stated that one of the injured, made their own way to Hospital. I would have thought that a casualty, would not be allowed to leave the site.

 

[35B]

In the Huntingdon incident. It was stated that one of the injured, made their own way to Hospital. I would have thought that a casualty, would not be allowed to leave the site.

They may have been triaged as not needing to go, or declined it at the time. The scene was also confused at the time, so some passengers may have left the site before a cordon was put in place.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would have thought that a casualty, would not be allowed to leave the site.

You can't force someone to have medical treatment except in a very limited number of cases, nor can you imprison them again outside of a limited number of cases. Thus if they want to go they can.

 

[bcarmicle]

From news reports of the Huntingdon attack, I gather that a lot of passengers fled the train (entirely understandably) as soon as it arrived at the station and sought shelter in nearby homes. So while police attended remarkably quickly, presumably they arrived after the train.