Anger at ‘Covid Express’
FEARS AS PACKED ST PANCRAS TRAIN HEADED NORTH AFTER TIER 4 ANNOUNCEMENT
PEOPLE in Leicester have voiced concerns about what they have termed the “Covid Express” to Leicester after reports surfaced online of a packed train leaving London on Saturday night.
The train, which left St Pancras International station, was the subject of reports of no social distancing on board.
In a tweet sent shortly before 8pm, Harriet Clugston said: “Last train out of Saigon. Queue at St Pancras as we wait to board the Leeds-bound train.”
Once on the train, she said: “As expected, train is crammed.
“Announcement on Tannoy says social distancing ‘will not be possible’ due to volume and to get off if you are not comfortable with that.
“People have tried to secure social distance by placing (suitcases) on seats but being asked to remove them by other passengers as the train is so full.”
As St Pancras is the Midlands
Mainline terminus to Leicester, people in the city took to Twitter to express disbelief.
One tweeter shared a video of a rammed station with the words: “Leicester train station announcer: ‘The next train arriving at Platform 2 is the 23.45 Covid Express train from London St Pancras’.”
Another said of images from the station: “Those are St Pancras East Coast trains: so expect a massive jump in cases in Luton, Peterborough, Leicester, Bedford.”
Concerns were heightened after, in his speech earlier that evening, Boris Johnson cited a new “mutant Covid strain” which is thought to be more virulent than the previous version.
Actor Con O’Neill said: “So all the trains out of London to the north have sold out tonight with people clambering to get home.... the timing of this ridiculous government has caused a mass panic... allowing the infection to spread all over the country.
“Why does Johnson still have a job? #JohnsonOut”
St Pancras International station has more underground connections than any other London station and offers four main services – Eurostar, East Midlands Railway, Southeastern and ThamesLink.
The Midland mainline offers trains to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, and it the station also runs domestic high-speed trains to and from Kent.
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