The scene in Bristol after a group of students abandoned a train. (Picture: SWNS/Epigram)

A group of up to 200 irate students halted a train before getting off and walking down the railway track after complaining that the packed carriage had become ‘claustrophobic’.

The passengers became angered on a train in the Redland area of Bristol on Saturday afternoon, after they became informed that the train would not be stopping at Redland station – as it was too busy.

A group of rail users then halted the train by pulling on the emergency cord, before getting off and walking back towards Clifton Down railway station.

British Transport Police officers, who are treating the incident as trespass, then tried to move the group off the line.




A spokeswoman for the force said that officers had seen up to 200 people on the track as they arrived.

Up to 200 students reportedly abandoned the train (Picture: SWNS/Epigram)

‘It was established that, as the train came to a stop shortly after leaving Clifton railway station, the emergency cord had been pulled and people had got off the train and started to walk back towards the station’, she said.

‘BTP officers at the scene helped to get the group off the line and to a place of safety.

‘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, added that the actions of passengers had endangered both themselves and other train users.

‘Railway lines are designed for trains, not people and are inherently dangerous places’, he said.

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

A Great Western Railway spokesman added: ‘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 £1000.’

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Speaking to Bristol University newspaper Epigram, one student on the train recalled: ‘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.’