Train so busy passengers had to cram into toilet to find space
Video shows the passengers standing in the cubicle, where they remained for up to an hour.
Many of us have experienced nightmare commutes, jammed up against other people in suits just to get home to the office.
But yesterday’s journey for some passengers took things to another level – as they had to cram into a smelly toilet to get from Cambridge to Ipswich.
The 5.47pm Greater Anglia service was so busy as a previous service was cancelled.
Video shows the passengers standing in the cubicle, where they remained for up to an hour.
Oscar Hedge, 18, tweeted a video from the loo which showed how people were packed inside.
He said: ‘It wasn’t nice because I had to stand in the toilet.
‘People were standing in that toilet all the way from Cambridge to Bury.
‘People got on at Newmarket and, because we’ve had lots of problems on the line with overcrowding before, a woman got on the train and just went and sat on the toilet casually, almost accepting that’s how the trains are. It wasn’t nice.’
4.47 Cambridge-Ipswich cancelled so 5.47 packed. Passengers had no choice but to stand in the toilet and then the train was half an hour delayed @greateranglia pic.twitter.com/7wL6HklVl8
— Oscar Hedge (@hedge_oscar) February 4, 2020
Greater Anglia apologised for the incident, blaming a train fault on a previous service for the overcrowding.
Mr Hedge, who said there were as many as eight other people in the toilet with him at times on the journey, added that the cubicle was ‘quite smelly’.
The teenager, who was travelling home to Bury St Edmunds from his sixth form college in Cambridge, said the journey which normally takes 40 minutes took around an hour because of further delays.
Christy Morris, who was also on the train, said: ‘It felt really cramped, you could barely breathe.
‘After a long day, everyone’s been at work, everyone’s been at uni, and it’s just so uncomfortable. You spend so much money a year to get a service, and it’s just not on really.’
Ms Morris, a 22-year-old student and office worker, said some passengers got off the train rather than endure the conditions on board.
Meanwhile, electronic displays appeared to show in error that there were seats available in all carriages.
‘We all laughed about it,’ Ms Morris said. ‘We all thought it was just ridiculous.’
A Greater Anglia spokesman said: ‘We apologise for the overcrowding on the 17.47 Cambridge-Ipswich service yesterday.
‘The 16.20 Ipswich to Cambridge service was terminated at Ely due to a train fault and therefore the following train was busier than usual.
‘We apologise for the inconvenience caused and would encourage those affected by the cancellation to claim delay repay at www.greateranglia.co.uk/delayrepay.’