Passengers stranded at Stoke Station as trains branded ‘truly …

This was the scene at Stoke Station this morning after another train was cancelled between Stoke-on-Trent and London. Dozens of passengers were left stranded on the platform after the Avanti West Coast service to the capital was axed.

The photo was taken by disgruntled Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Jo Gideon who branded Avanti’s level of service as ‘totally unacceptable’. The Tory – who makes regular trips between her base in Bucknall ^[1] and London – has now pledged to raise the issue with her colleagues in Parliament.

In a tweet on X, she said: “Another train to London cancelled by @AvantiWestCoast ^[2] this morning. The level of service is truly unacceptable. I will be speaking further with colleagues in Westminster and I will continue to outline concerns with the Government until residents have the services they deserve.”

In a statement to StokeonTrentLive, Avanti apologised for the disruption after the train needed a ‘precautionary safety inspection’. It was the latest in a long line of trains to have been cancelled in recent weeks. Only last Wednesday, passengers faced huge delays after a tree fell on power lines near Macclesfield.

An Avanti spokesperson said: “We apologise to anyone who was due to travel on this morning’s 1053 to London. The train had to be taken out of service for a precautionary safety inspection following reports of noise, which subsequently was found to have been caused by loose trackside ballast that had hit the underside of the train.

“Customers affected were able to use their tickets to travel on the next service, which left Stoke-on-Trent 20 minutes later.”

References

^{^} Bucknall (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} @AvantiWestCoast (twitter.com)
^{^} Sign up to our main daily newsletter here and get all the latest news straight to your inbox for FREE (data.reachplc.com)