Fury as ‘thousands’ stranded at Victoria Station by major signal failure
The departures board at Victoria Station, London (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)
Passengers were left stranded during Friday’s rush hour as signal failures at a central London[1] station caused chaos.
Southeastern[2] trains confirmed that all lines in and out of platforms at Victoria[3] were blocked with no services in or out.
But by 9.30pm, all platforms reopened and trains were running normally.
A spokeman said: “There has been severe disruption to services so we’re working to get trains back on time as quickly as possible but disruption is expected until the end of service.”
Network Rail[4] Kent and Sussex said it investigated “a serious fault” with signalling equipment.
Track bosses had expected the major disruption to Southeastern services to last until late Friday.
Routes affected included those between London Victoria and Dartford, Ashford International, Dover Priory, Gillingham and Orpington.
Network Rail response staff had been on site since 3pm.
However, the issue worsened at around 6pm, affecting all platforms at the station.
Southeastern said trains were being diverted to Cannon Street or cancelled.
⚠️UPDATE: #LondonVictoria[5]
✅All platforms are now open at the station and trains can run normally.
🚆There has been severe disruption to services so we’re working to get trains back on time as quickly as possible but disruption is expected until the end of service.
— Southeastern (@Se_Railway) July 14, 2023[6]
Passengers were advised tickets could be used at no extra cost on London Underground services, London buses between London Victoria and Bromley South/Orpington as well as high-speed services from London St Pancras International.
Those delayed may be entitled to compensation.
Commuters were advised to keep their train tickets and make a note of their journey to support any claim.
Michael Jessops, 26,was among the passengers left stranded.
He could not catch a train to Dover where he was planning to meet friends.
The junior sales executive, from Rochester in Kent, told MailOnline: “The train services are shocking. It’s an actual nightmare getting home on a normal day but today is even worse.
“I’ve got no idea how I’m going to get home now. I’m stuck here with everyone else. There must be thousands of people here in the same boat as me.”
Katherine Stobbart, 41, who was due to return home to Horsham, in West Sussex, said our train services are “a joke”.
References
- ^ London (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ Southeastern (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ Victoria (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ Network Rail (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ #LondonVictoria (twitter.com)
- ^ July 14, 2023 (twitter.com)