'Mutinous' GWR passengers made train reverse to missed stations by pulling alarm six times
Passengers took matters into their own hands after a rail operator removed vital stops from its schedule.
The emergency alarm was pulled a total of six times on a Great Western Railway (GWR) service from Penzance to London.
According to the website Railnews, "mutinous passengers” forced the rail operator to reverse to Swindon when it removed the destination from its schedule.
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Normally, the Penzance to Paddington train doesn't stop at Swindon, but the destination was added to help passengers affected by earlier disruption on the Bristol to London line, reports Cornwall Live.
According to GWR the decision to miss stations including Chippenham and Swindon was taken after the service became “too busy” to carry anymore passengers safely.
Railnews said: "A GWR train from Penzance to London was halted by angry passengers after it had not stopped at Swindon and was allowed to set back, causing major delays to other traffic.
"The train from Cornwall was said to be 'dangerously overcrowded' and the emergency alarm was pulled six times after Swindon had been passed.
"The train was delayed by an hour by the reversing move and was eventually terminated at Reading, having lost its path into Paddington."
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In a response to Railnews from GWR, the rail operator said: "We’re really sorry for those inconvenienced yesterday and those who were delayed will be able to get their money back by claiming a refund.
"The 2.18pm Penzance to Paddington service was diverted via Chippenham and Swindon to assist passengers affected by an earlier cancelled train.
"The service was, however, too busy to carry more passengers safely, so the extra stops were removed.
"While those on board were informed of the decision, having passed Swindon the emergency ‘passcomms’ was pulled and the train stopped – further delaying the service."
The incident happened on Sunday, October 3.
