Railway passengers stuck for eight hours after Nottingham train hits mudslide and floods

Passengers on a London to Nottingham train were stranded for more than eight hours after a series of events which are worthy of a Hollywood movie.
The stranded train. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire).The stranded train. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire).
The stranded train. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire).

First the 2.34pm service from St Pancras yesterday (Thursday) was diverted off the main line because of a trespasser on the tracks near Leicester.

Then it was halted by a mudslide on the diversion route near Corby, at around 4pm.

A couple of hours later, the 400 or so passengers were transferred onto a southbound train heading from Sheffield to London. But that train then got stuck by flood waters at the Corby Tunnel.

The stranded train. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire).The stranded train. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire).
The stranded train. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire).

British Transport Police, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, Network Rail and paramedics were all involved in the operation to help the stranded passengers.

Eventually passengers were moved onto a second rescue train, and taken to Kettering train station.

But that was around 10pm - seven-and-a-half hours into the journey and still not back at Nottingham.

A number of office-based East Midlands Trains staff volunteered to attend Corby and Kettering stations to help make forward travel arrangements for passengers until the early hours of the morning.

Transport Police on site. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire)Transport Police on site. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire)
Transport Police on site. Picture: British Transport Police (Leicestershire)

A spokeswoman for East Midlands Trains said this morning: "We are very sorry for the lengthy delays some of our customers experienced last night due to a landslip and serious flooding near Corby Tunnel.

"All customers were safely evacuated from the site of the flooding and transferred by road and rail to their destinations. Our staff assisted in every way possible, including arranging hotel rooms for any customers who could reach their final destination last night.

"We would like to thank our passengers for their patience and understanding during what was a very challenging situation for everyone involved. The train was at a standstill in a very difficult location which meant that Network Rail and the fire service had to construct a path through rubble and flooding to ensure we could get customers off safely.

"While this was done as quickly as possible, it added to the length of the rescue effort. We are very grateful to our team for their hard work throughout the night and to Network Rail, British Transport Police and the emergency services for their efforts in dealing with this incident."