A vulnerable woman was left "freezing cold" on a train for two and a half hours after signal fault.
Isla Hewitt, 66, was in Perth, Scotland, visiting her family for the first time since 2019. But on Monday, February 13, when she tried to make her way back home to Wavertree with her son, Gary, the Northern Rail train she was travelling on between Preston and Liverpool Lime Street ran into a problem.
Network Rail posted on Twitter just before 7pm that trains were delayed or cancelled between Wigan and Lime Street following a signalling fault. Isla said her train came to a complete standstill near Huyton Railway Station, with very little information being given.
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She told The ECHO: "The train just came to a complete standstill and we weren't really told why. In the end a member of staff told us there was an issue and were were stuck there for two and a half hours.
"I have health problems and quite vulnerable and was freezing cold on the train. When I asked if there was anything they could do and said how cold I was I was told it was an 'old train'.
"I was appalled at how few updates were given and how staff just didn't seem to care. I felt really really ill and when I got home we had to crank the heating on because I was still so cold."
Isla didn't get back home until 10pm, after catching her first train of the day at 8.30am.
Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern said: "We are sorry for the disruption passengers faced on Monday evening. A fault with the signalling system between Huyton and Wigan North Western meant the train could not continue on its journey until this issue was resolved.”
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