East Midlands Railway have apologised for the "discomfort" caused after crowds of passengers were seen packing onto a Leeds-bound train from London - hours before the capital entered Tier 4.
Following the prime minister's announcement on Saturday afternoon that people in Tier 4 areas will not be allowed to form Christmas bubbles at all, hundreds of people evacuated London in a desperate scramble to be with their loved ones.
A video from London St Pancras station showed a huge crowd of people shuffling along the platform to get onto the train.
Passengers were "crammed" onto carriages and a tannoy announcement warned people that there would be no chance of social distancing due to the volume of customers onboard the service.
This morning, health secretary Matt Hancock slammed those on the train for their "totally irresponsible behaviour" after London and the South East was identified as a hotspot for a new strain of coronavirus that transmits far quicker between people.
And now, East Midlands Railway have reacted after the "unexpected surge" in passengers led to the only London to Leeds service on Saturday evening being completely full.
In a statement, a spokesperson for East Midlands Railway said: "We appreciate some of our services out of London on Saturday evening were much busier than normal and we are sorry for any inconvenience and discomfort caused to passengers.
"We want to reassure everyone we are already running our full, pre-Covid, Intercity timetable with as many trains and carriages in service as possible and we are doing everything we can help people travel safely during these unprecedented times.
"Clearly, Saturday afternoon's Government announcement and the introduction of a new Tier 4 from midnight tonight led to an unexpected surge in passengers wishing to travel before the further social and travel restrictions are introduced.
"Passengers are reminded they should wear a face covering inside the station and throughout their journey and be mindful and considerate of others travelling."
A company official also highlighted that their full timetable has been running since the summer and that only two of the 10 services travelling north from London on Saturday evening were full to capacity.
