Flooding: Passengers' 'nightmare' on stranded train

Network Rail has begun work to release the stranded train

Passengers stuck on a train for up to eight hours after torrential rain caused a landslip said it was "a nightmare".

The London to Nottingham service was stranded in Corby, Northamptonshire, on Thursday. Commuters were transferred to a second train which also became stuck due to flooding on the line.

Food and water ran out on-board and one woman collapsed.

East Midlands Trains said there was "no estimation" when the line would reopen.

Passengers on Nottingham-bound service were transferred to a second train which stopped alongside, but that could not leave the area because of flooding.

East Midlands Trains said the second train had been diverted on to the flooded line because of trespassing on its usual route.

Network Rail workers are "on-site assessing the damage and clearing the line", a spokesperson for the rail operator added.

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Liam McCarthy, who was one of the 500 passengers on-board the stranded 14:34 BST service, described it as "an absolute nightmare".

"We were evacuated from the train using the original wooden ladder to get us down on the trackside and then we walked along the track, up an embankment and on to coaches," he said.

The East Midlands Trains service stopped when the track was covered with rubble

Passengers used a gangway to transfer on to another train

Charlotte Webb said she was transferred from the 14:34 Nottingham-bound train to a "very crowded" London-bound service, which was unable to move because of floodwater.

"I feel the situation was dealt with very badly," she said.

It is not known when normal services will resume

"There was limited food and water and the crew didn't give out much information because they didn't know what was going on," she added.

"Once we were being evacuated, we were told no luggage larger than a small suitcase was allowed to be taken off.

"Obviously this made it a very stressful situation for people."

A digger can be seen on the track trying to remove rubble from the landslip

However, Ms Webb said the "onward planning" at Corby railway station of taxis, buses and overnight accommodation was very good.

Elliot Gardner, who arrived home in Lincolnshire at 03:00, said it took several hours to work out how to get everyone on the second train, with people eventually led over a gangway.

"People were told to leave anything that wasn't essential - I saw young mothers with small children in their arms who had to leave clothes, prams," he said.

"A lot of people were going to Download Festival and they had no clothes for the weekend and no way to get them."

The train operator has apologised to all those caught up in the disruption, saying it was a "challenging situation" due to the amount of rubble and flooding curbing rescue efforts.