Terrifying moment for passengers as train breaks down in tunnel

Terrifying moment underground train breaks down in middle of tunnel as passengers are forced to walk along train tracks in the dark to get to safety

•  The Outer Circle of Glasgow’s transport network was suspended for an hour
•  One passenger said they had to leave through the driver’s carriage window 
•  Scores of music fans travelling to the TRNSMT Festival were on board the train

Passengers were forced to evacuate in darkness amid ‘chaotic’ scenes after a Glasgow subway train suddenly broke down in a tunnel on Saturday afternoon.

The incident, which closed the Outer Circle of the Scottish city’s transport network between Kelvinbridge and St George’s Cross for an hour, additionally caused disruption to scores of music fans travelling to the three-day TRNSMT Festival, which began on Friday.

One passenger who was going to the festival said they were left to stay on the train for an hour before being asked to disembark, amid humid temperatures that caused some people on board to ‘look like they were about to pass out’.

Speaking to MailOnline they said: ‘Our train was running fine and then it came to a gradual halt. There was a loud noise like air discharging from the brakes. 

‘Our carriage was quite busy with many going to TRNSMT. There was also a lady who was on her way to the airport, but she missed her flight because of the delay.

The Outer Circle of Glasgow’s transport network was suspended for an hour on Saturday afternoon after a tube train broke down in a tunnel

The passengers were asked to detrain and walk along the tunnel to the nearest station

Many of those on board the train were travelling to the TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow

‘After about an hour the driver walked through the carriage and did a headcount, but didn’t tell us what was going on. A few minutes later he announced over the tannoy that we would have to detrain.

‘We all walked towards the driver’s carriage and then out through the front window, which had been lifted out, and down a ladder.

‘In the tunnel there were a few emergency lights but it was still pretty dark. At one point we could see and hear another tube coming the opposite way in a parallel tunnel, which was quite alarming.’

When the passengers reached St George’s Cross station they were helped onto the platform by staff members, the passenger added.

A spokesperson for SPT, which operates the service, said: ‘The Subway Outer Circle was suspended due to a broken-down train and 72 passengers were detrained, as is normal practice if break down is mid tunnel, to the next station. 

‘All services have now resumed, and the Subway is running as normal.’

As they reached St George’s Cross station, staff helped the passengers onto the platform

SPT, which operates the train service, said they had to ensure the track was isolated and staff were in place to assist before they could evacuate the passengers

They added:  ‘SPT reacts as quickly as possible to all unexpected events, passenger safety is always our first priority. 

‘Before detraining of passengers can commence, we need to ensure complete isolation of the track and staff in place to assist. 

‘We apologise to all passengers for the inconvenience.’

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