It’s murder travelling on the Sardine Express
WELCOME aboard the Sardine Express. These images shows dozens of commuters at Littleborough and Smithy Bridge stations packed on Northern’s Blackburn to Manchester service.
They were taken at just after 8am last Thursday after passengers were forced to cram into half the usual number of carriages for the second day running.
Some missed stops as they were too wedged in to make it to the doors to get off, with others not being able to board.
Northern bosses apologised, saying fallen trees had caused obstructions, leading to delays and fewer carriages.
Steph Cosson posted one of the photos on Facebook after getting on at Littleborough, saying people were holding onto each other to help them stand. The 36-year-old, who works for Manchester council, said: “The trains are coming through late and half the size they should be and the effects last all day so you dread the journey home.
“There’s no limit on how many people get on – you just pack in. Those that can’t fit end up late for work as usually the next service doesn’t arrive on time, either. On Thursday morning the train didn’t even stop at two stations because there just wasn’t any more room.”
Katie Holliday, 53, gave up using the train last month because of the overcrowding problem and now drives from Smithy Bridge to Manchester city centre.
She said: “By the time it got to Littleborough it was pretty much full and by the time it reached Rochdale it was that packed you couldn’t move, you couldn’t walk down the aisle and people missed stops because they couldn’t get off.
“It’s a recipe for disaster. I dread to think what would happen if there was an accident. People’s lives are being put at risk.”
A Northern spokesman said extreme weather had caused trees to fall on the line which had caused delays and a reduction in carriages.
The spokesman added: “We completely understand the frustration felt by customers as such services would be even busier than usual, but we worked with our colleagues across the rail industry to return the network to normal running as soon as practicable.”