11:30am Friday 28th May 2004
By Croydon Guardian
Hundreds of commuters were stranded for two and a half hours outside East Croydon railway station on Monday night.
What should have been a quick journey turned into a nightmare for many passengers on the 5.45pm service from London Bridge to Eastbourne.
A power failure to a section of the railway track brought the train to a halt at Windmill Bridge, north of Norwood Junction. South Central's state-of-the-art Electrostar 377 was carrying around 1,000 passengers when it suddenly stopped at 6.30pm.
Once the train which only came into service at the end of last year, lost power back up batteries kept the lights, air-conditioning and toilets working for up to two hours.
Finally at 9pm a second train was backed up to the stricken service and the passengers, including a pregnant woman and five-year-old boy, were transferred and taken to East Croydon station where many boarded connecting services to complete their journey to the south coast.
In some carriages, frustrated workers had tried to force open the doors and jump down on to the tracks. Those travelling to Eastbourne finally reached their destination around 11pm, four hours late.
South Central is already arranging compensation for passengers. A spokesman said: "South Central offers everyone on the train our sincere apologies. What happened on Monday evening was not acceptable.
"We would like to thank passengers for their patience. The compensation will not be in travel vouchers but will allow them to get something nice."
Were you one of the passengers stuck on the train? Call the newsdesk on 020 8774 6589 or email newsdesk@croydon guardian.co.uk.
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