Letter: Man 'kidnapped' on train that didn't stop at Overton

The service was advertised as stopping at all stations. I was planning to alight from this service at Whitchurch.

I couldn't believe this service had so few carriages as it was coming into rush hour.

I joined around seven minutes before departure.

No seats were available, and it really was the sardine special.

There was no space to sit on the floor, and I had to stand for the entire journey, which was meant to be one hour and seven minutes.

I was shocked when the train went straight through Overton station, then straight through my station, Whitchurch, then Andover and Grateley.

Had the train driver become unwell? Or was this due to the route of all evil… £££££?

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They were kind enough to let some passengers off at Salisbury, the ones who had been held against their will on a train that had not stopped at the promised destinations.

I'm not a barrister, but this is a criminal offence, unless it was due to safety reasons.

It turned out this was because of late-running services, and South Western Railway wanted to avoid a large fine.

Taxi drivers have in the past been charged with kidnapping or holding persons against their will when they lock their doors to prevent escape when there is a dispute over a fare.

Why are train drivers exempt?

As if standing for a total of one hour and 46 minutes wasn't enough stress, the internal temperature on this train was over 36 degrees. Over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

I then had to stand for another half an hour at Platform 2 at Salisbury Railway Station to get a train back to Whitchurch, as all spaces on platform benches were full, then in excess of half an hour standing on this return train, as again, standing room only.

I think SWR should have provided us with water and taxis to our destination.

Again, thinking about their hundreds of millions of pounds rather than treating passengers with respect and dignity.

If a company had done this to animals, the CEOs would be looking at custodial sentences; again, why can train franchises get away with doing this to humans?

Totally unacceptable and unnecessary.

John Gogarty,

Stoke,

Andover

In response to the letter, an SWR spokesperson said: "We are very sorry that the customer experienced discomfort while travelling with us. The 16.20 from London Waterloo to Exeter Central encountered a problem

 "The service arrived 11 minutes late at Basingstoke, and to prevent delays spreading across the West of England line, it did not stop at stations between Basingstoke and Salisbury.

"Between Salisbury and Exeter, the West of England line is mainly single track, with only six places for trains to pass each other.

"Trains must reach their passing places at exactly the right time to ensure that delays do not spread across the route, which could result in even more short-notice cancellations throughout the day.

 "Whenever calling patterns change, our guards and station colleagues make every effort to support our customers. Where possible, they will inform customers of their options, such as letting them know about alternative services.

"There are also help points at our stations that customers can use to communicate with our customer information team, who can support them to complete their journey.

 "Some services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids have been running with fewer coaches than normal, which can make them busier than usual.

"We, and other operators of similar trains, are seeing problems with engines and wheelsets, and are having to remove trains from service to keep them running safely and reliably.

"We’re working with the suppliers of these engines and wheelsets to source replacements; however, they are dealing with the impact of global supply chain delays."

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