Protesters take to the tracks
PASSENGERS travelling from Newcastle to Manchester on Sunday saw their journeys cancelled after a mass protest staged on railway tracks.
The demo took place at Manchester Piccadilly station where around 100 protesters were seen waving flags reading ‘Stop Turkey from helping ISIS terrorists.’ It is believed Manchester’s Kurdish community descended on the station as part of an international day of protest.
A spokesman from the Friends of Kurdistan Manchester told the Manchester Evening News: “This is a spot demonstration of angry people who feel the UK Government has been quiet on this issue. Our job is to try and help the Kurdish community here as much as we can. The international community and the media are not paying enough attention to this issue.”
There is a regular service between Newcastle and Manchester Piccadilly and several had to be cancelled before the tracks were cleared, beginning with the 10.39am train due to arrive at 1.31pm. It wasn’t until the 1.40pm train from Newcastle, arriving in Manchester at 4.31pm, that services got back to normal.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said: “We were called to Manchester Piccadilly station shortly after 1pm on Sunday following reports of protesters trespassing on the tracks.”
The spokesperson said officers had to ensure the safe removal of protesters before reopening of the station.
A passenger told the Manchester Evening News: “I came through the main door and a mass of about 100 people with banners chanting something were there.
“I couldn’t tell what they were chanting. I went off to Platform 14 to get my train and as I was standing on the platform a voice came over the tannoy and said the trains would be put on hold due to a trespass incident. We saw people walking on most of the tracks. It seemed pretty peaceful.
“There were a lot of frustrated travellers and a lot of confusion about what was happening. A lot of people had been on the platform for a while and were confused about what was happening because they hadn’t been in the main station building.”
The protest infuriated passengers. Rom Levins wrote: “The reason for protest is completely legit but what on earth has Manchester Piccadilly got to do with Turkey supporting IS? Absolutely nothing. If they want change they could protest outside somewhere that has the power to give change.”