2015 Rugby World Cup: Accident at Twickenham station leaves several supporters stranded

Fans at the Twickenham station

Thousands of fans were left waiting to get home after what was to be believed to be an accident at the Twickenham station on Friday night following the first match of the tournament between England and Fiji.

The organising committee were prepared for a situation where there can be some transport problems to the passengers travelling through Twickenham station. But they were not prepared enough for the incident that followed. A passenger fell from the station’s platform and got hit by an incoming train, he was admitted to the nearest hospital with head and leg injuries.

A British transport servicemen said, “The man was struck by the train (10.33pm Windsor to Waterloo service), which was slowing down to come into the station, and suffered head and leg injuries as a result of the incident. At this stage it is unclear exactly how the man came to fall on to the tracks, though early indications suggest it was an accident, and officers are now working to determine the full circumstances, ” as The Guardian reports.

The organisers attempted to funnel the spectators onto the shuttle buses to nearby Hounslow and Richmond stations, with others going directly to Waterloo. But long queues built up and due to the station closure local roads were also closed for up to half an hour, longer than they were originally planned.

A similar incident happened when the First Great Western were forced to apologise to the travellers travelling to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff due to delay in services. They admitted to severe overcrowding at Paddington and ensured that they will review the arrangements for future matches.

First Great Western said, “We’re sorry for anyone caught up on busy services ahead of today’s match at the Millennium Stadium. Although we warned customers services were likely to be very busy and to travel early, the number of people wishing to travel is slightly higher than predicted, and passenger numbers have been less evenly spread throughout the day than we would normally expect.”

More than 2.5 million people are expected to attend matches throughout the tournament, with 400,000 fans having travelled to the country from overseas.