Train passengers were stuck in darkness for two hours in a tunnel after a power supply problem led to multiple cancellations on the network.
A Merseyrail train suddenly lost power around 6 pm yesterday in a tunnel between St Michael’s and Hunts Cross.
Passenger Tom, 26, told the ECHO he was on his way to a flat viewing and was expecting to get off at the next station when his carriage suddenly stalled.
He said: ‘The Merseyrail train was stuck for two hours in the tunnel. The power went off, the lights went off, and then the woman working on the train said, ‘Don’t worry, everyone, it’s fine, we’re going to be fine’.
The train driver opened the door, and Michael said he and the other passengers could see lights at the end of the tunnel.
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They were sitting in complete darkness for two hours before another train towed them off to Brunswick, where they got off around 8 pm.
The ECHO understands the driver of the train was in contact with the control room through a radio system while they waited for the problem to be resolved.
Tom added: ‘Because we stopped in the tunnel, it was pitch black, you couldn’t see anything. It couldn’t have stopped anywhere worse, it was so dark – it was like something out of a movie.
‘People started getting really hot, needing water, needing something to eat. The driver kept telling people not to worry and apologising.’
Network Rail – the infrastructure manager of most of the railway network across the country – is responsible for the power supply on the network.
In a statement on X at 9 pm on Monday, Merseyrail said: ‘Services on the line are returning, subject to delays and short notice cancellations until a normal working timetable is restored.’
The incident came just days after passengers on the Eurostar were stuck on the tracks for nine hours after their train lost power.
Angry passengers took to social media, claiming they were left without working toilets on the stifling trains with no airflow.
A passenger who was trapped on the Eurostar tracks near Guines, who did not want to be named, told Metro: ‘We’ve been here for about four hours now. They said both of the engines are out of service and we need a new train to take us.
‘Conditions aren’t great – paramedics are on board and triaging people. There are no toilets. No AC. No water. Zero communication from staff on board. None. The only info we get is from Twitter.’
Eventually, passengers were told to disembark outside of Calais and wait for a replacement train service.
Eurostar claimed the train arrived in St Pancras International 50 minutes later – meaning the usual two-hour journey clocked in at more than 11 hours.
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