Mouldy shoes caused major security scare
Railway managers today issued a reminder to passengers to be vigilant and not to leave their personal belongings and luggage unattended on trains and at stations.
More than 125 trains were delayed and tens of thousands of passengers inconvenienced yesterday (Monday 11 July) after a cardboard box containing a pair of tatty training shoes was left on a Virgin train.
The unmarked shoebox was left on the 1346 Bournemouth-Edinburgh CrossCountry train and sparked a full scale security alert at Oxford. Passengers were forced to leave the train until the all clear was given.
Chris Gibb, Managing Director, Virgin CrossCountry, said: "We would urge all our customers to keep their personal belongings and luggage with them at all times and remember to take all items with them when they leave trains and stations. This one incident caused unnecessary delay and stress for our customers and staff."
Mr Gibb praised the emergency services along with Virgin trains staff and the station staff at Oxford for their professionalism in the way they dealt with the incident.
Railway managers today issued a reminder to passengers to be vigilant and not to leave their personal belongings and luggage unattended on trains and at stations.
More than 125 trains were delayed and tens of thousands of passengers inconvenienced yesterday (Monday 11 July) after a cardboard box containing a pair of tatty training shoes was left on a Virgin train.
The unmarked shoebox was left on the 1346 Bournemouth-Edinburgh CrossCountry train and sparked a full scale security alert at Oxford. Passengers were forced to leave the train until the all clear was given.
Chris Gibb, Managing Director, Virgin CrossCountry, said: "We would urge all our customers to keep their personal belongings and luggage with them at all times and remember to take all items with them when they leave trains and stations. This one incident caused unnecessary delay and stress for our customers and staff."
Mr Gibb praised the emergency services along with Virgin trains staff and the station staff at Oxford for their professionalism in the way they dealt with the incident.