Punches thrown and staff assaulted as 'worst journey ever' leaves train looking like a blood bath
The train had to stop at Tiverton Parkway for police to intervene
Football fans and other train passengers returning to Devon and Cornwall from Bristol have described their "worst train journey ever".
Hundreds of fans crammed on to trains home following
Plymouth Argyle 's 0-4 defeat to Bristol City on Saturday and have described incidents of overcrowding and even a fight breaking out,
which caused services to be disrupted and delayed.
One CrossCountry service which departed Bristol at 6.45pm was
delayed for more than one hour when it was forced to stop at
Tiverton Parkway so police and paramedics could deal with the incidents. CrossCountry says a passenger lashed out and seriously assaulted their train manager, which is why British Transport Police had to be called in at Tiverton.
One Argyle supporter said he had travelled up to Bristol with some mates to make a day out of it. The 40-year-old, who works in retail, said the journey up country was incident free.
However when it came to making his way home, he said the experience is not one he wants to repeat in a hurry. The Argyle fan, who only wanted to be known as Stuart, said: "We were packed like sardines on that train. All four carriages on the train were full.
"The whole train was stuffed to the rafters with passengers. In all honesty it was the worst train journey I've had in my life."
Stuart said that he'd booked a seat in first class in the hope it'd be less crowded on the way back but could not even reach his carriage because of the hordes of passengers everywhere. "I tried to get to my seat but one of the assistants just told me to go anywhere as it was too busy.
"It was back to back and front to front in the carriageways. You couldn't go anywhere. With hundreds of fans onboard you can imagine how hot it got in there.
"It was sweltering. There were families too who'd gone up to Bristol for some shopping. It was horrendous. I don't think CrossCountry had really planned for it."
Stuart said that a fight broke out as tempers flared and police and paramedics had to intervene. As a result the service stopped at Tiverton Parkway and people were asked to get off.
Trainline said the disturbance was first reported at around 8.32pm. Stuart said one person had been punching people on board including fellow passengers and staff, and reported that he saw blood on the floor of the carriage.
Stuart said: "There were people drinking, vaping on board. There was no control.
"I have asked for a refund because I wasn't able to have the seat I paid for. It was just chaos.
"In the end I got off at
Newton Abbot and got my partner to come and pick me up. I just couldn't stomach to stay on that train."
Another passenger affected by the delays told DevonLive: "Train disruption at Tiverton Parkway tonight. British transport police have been called to sort out a large disturbance on a service to Plymouth.
"All trains west are backing up behind the incident train."
National Rail confirmed that the incident was cleared at Tiverton after about an hour and the journey resumed with services from CrossCountry and GWR to
Plymouth and into Cornwall delayed throughout the evening.
A taxi driver who was parked outside Tiverton Parkway at the time of the incident said she was dropping off a passenger who was bound for London. She said: "My passenger was really worried she might not make it because of it. There was a lot going on outside the station.
"The police were there. An ambulance was there.
"I spoke to one of the Argyle fans who said to me a fight had broken out on board the train. His words to me were 'it was a blood bath'."
At the time of the incident Trainline said: "CrossCountry between Edinburgh and Plymouth and also between Bristol Temple Meads and Paington were affected. Great Western Railway between London Paddington and
Exeter St Davids / Plymouth / Penzance, between Cardiff Central and Exeter St Davids, and also between Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter Central, have also been affected.
"There was some disruption caused by passengers causing a disturbance on a train at Tiverton Parkway which has now ended."
Steve Hopkinson, CrossCountry’s service delivery director, said: "We're sorry to those affected by disruption this weekend due to train crew constraints, which has lead to short notice changes and cancellations including on our routes in the South West.
“However, harassment and assault of our onboard colleagues - working tirelessly to get people where they want to be - is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We work with the British Transport Police to ensure that anybody engaging in violent behaviour on the rail network is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
British Transport Police has been contacted for comment.
