An Edinburgh ScotRail passenger has hit out after they were left to go to the toilet in a 'river of toilet water, tissue paper and faeces'.
Paul McShane was travelling from the capital to Helensburgh on Monday, May 30, when he was told to use the toilet on another carriage as there was no water in the one near him
After he and several other passengers arrived in another carriage to find that toilet also locked, they got a member of staff to unlock it - only for the worker to "heave" at the sight of the toilet overflowing with faeces.
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Paul, 30, said: "Me, my girlfriend and my son were getting off at Glasgow Queen Street and once the train set off, myself and several others passengers needed the toilet but we couldn't go as the toilet on our carriage had no water.
"I was bursting so much that when it stopped, I ran off and onto a new carriage. Again, the door was locked, but luckily, we got a member of staff to unlock it. When she did, she heaved. The toilet was overflowing with a cocktail of toilet water, tissue paper, faeces and urine.
"I couldn't sit on the toilet as my buttons would be touching the dirty water, but even standing I wasn't safe with the train moving and the water sloshing about. I had to do this almost every time the train stopped running between carriages. There was no other means of using the toilet on that train."
Paul added that meanwhile, he was standing in among all the dirty water that had come from the toilet, with the tops of his shoes covered in untold mess.
He continued: "It even left a tinted brown mark on my trainer, which were hard to get hold off due to being limited edition.
"I was fuming to say the least, the fact that they never followed up when I complained on Twitter is the worst part, no pride in the services they provide."
Paul managed to record a few seconds of video while in the toilet, which shows water everywhere and splashing out of the toilet bowl.
ScotRail have issued an apology for what passengers experienced while on this service, although they also confirmed that there was no reported problem when the train set off, meaning it was likely that the toilet was locked due to a blockage occurring mid-journey.
They said it is standard procedure to lock a train toilet when a fault develops, as the scenes that Paul witnessed would have been for everyone to see if not.
James Burns, ScotRail Head of Train Presentation, said: “We are sorry this customer had a bad experience on this train.
“We are committed to making sure all of our trains are clean, so every customer has the comfortable journey they expect.”
