An investigation is being launched after hundreds of passengers were stranded on Elizabeth Line trains on Thursday night.
Transport for London said four trains were left stranded after “another rail operator's train” hit the overhead power lines, which are managed by Network Rail.
Some passengers were left stuck on the trains for four hours, some of which were left in the cold and dark, as the trains were without heating or lighting for a period of time.
Some passengers had to be lowered onto the tracks to urinate as TfL’s £1 billion fleet of trains — which can carry in excess of 1,000 passengers — were deliberately built without lavatories.
Footage from the night shows passengers walking alongside the tracks, after being escorted from their train by staff.
There were no Elizabeth line services in the first half of Friday as repairs continued.
One of the passengers caught on the Elizabeth Line on Thursday night was the Evening Standard’s editor-in-chief Dylan Jones.
In this episode of The Standard podcast Dyland describes his experience stranded on the Elizabeth line.
We also speak with our transport editor Ross Lydall who reveals a ‘bodge job’ carried out 25 years ago may have caused the chaos on Thursday night.
Ross also discusses some passengers' stories from the night, and explains how long there could be disruption on the Elizabeth line as a result of this issue.
To hear the full podcast episode you can listen above, or find us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you stream your podcasts.
