Police are trying to identify up to 200 rail passengers – most of them students on their way to a music festival – after they stopped a crowded train, jumped off and walked along the tracks.

Some of those on board complained that the train was uncomfortably busy and so warm that passengers were having panic attacks.

But British Transport police (BTP) said it was treating what happened as a “trespass incident”, explaining that it caused delays and could have put lives in danger.

Chaos on the train to Tokyo World, read the full story here: http://t.co/K1i8ReWvIK pic.twitter.com/7ib75wMW6J — Epigram News (@EpigramNews) September 27, 2015

The incident happened in Bristol shortly after the two-carriage service left Clifton Down station, packed with students heading to the one-day music festival Tokyo World in the city’s Eastville Park on Saturday.



Passengers said it took about 15 minutes to get everyone on board. But just moments into the 12-minute journey, the train stopped because of overcrowding at the next station ahead, Redland.

Some passengers said an announcement was made that the train would not be stopping at Redland because it was too busy and, fed up at how long it was taking and how crowded it was, some decided to act.

There were chants of: “Let us off, let us off,” before someone apparently pulled an emergency cord and passengers jumped down on to the tracks. Some scrambled up banks to get away.

Officers from British Transport police helped moved some of the passengers to safety. A spokeswoman for the force said officers saw up to 200 people on the line.

She said: “We are treating this as a trespass incident – one which caused numerous delays to services in the area and could have put lives in danger – and inquiries are currently under way to identify those involved.”

Julian Burnell, of Network Rail, said the passengers’ actions had endangered themselves and other train users. “Railway lines are designed for trains, not people and are inherently dangerous places.

“The actions of this group of passengers, whatever their reasons, endangered not only themselves, but also their fellow passengers. We will be investigating.”

A spokesman for Great Western, the train operator, said: “These individuals put themselves and others at great risk, and inconvenienced hundreds of other people.

“The railway is a hazardous environment, which is why railway trespass is a criminal offence, carrying a maximum fine of £1,000. We will be assisting BTP in their inquiries.”

The train eventually moved on towards the Stapleton Road station, where the majority of the festivalgoers had been planning to get off, but was almost empty.

A 21-year-old student said: “A few people had panic attacks and had to be carried off. It was awful, everyone was forcing the doors open and running down the tracks back to Clifton Down.”

Another student added: “I went into the bathroom as it was so hot and sweaty in the carriage. There were over 200 people in two carriages. It was horrible.”

One computer science student told the student newspaper Epigram: “No one knew what was going on. The driver made an announcement over the Tannoy but no one could really hear it.”

A history student told Epigram: “It was awful, I was trapped in the corner. I’m claustrophobic so I started panicking and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. People around us were shouting to the guys nearest to the window to smash it open.”



According to Epigram, one female student was seen lying beside the track after fainting. An aerospace engineer told the paper he had to divert the crowd of people jumping off the train away from the ill student, fearing she might be trampled.

He described how students ran away from police officers as they walked down the tracks towards the train, causing many to scramble up a bank and over a fence rather than walk back to the platform.