Virgin train passengers told 'sit on floor we're going faster'

Passengers on a Virgin Pendolino journey were left stunned after being told to sit on the floor – because the train was about to go faster. Due to congestion, some of the 600 passengers on the popular 10:48am service from London to Liverpool on October 27 were forced to stand for the duration of the two-hour journey. Their frustration turned to disbelief when a train manager advised anyone standing up to sit on the floor as the train was in the process of speeding up.

Officials at Virgin were at a loss to explain why the unorthodox instructions were read out over the train's PA system. A spokesman for Virgin said the incident may have been born out of over exuberance on the part of the manager, who was keen to make up for lost time after the train had been delayed due to cable thefts on the line. They admitted that standing up on the train posed no safety risks for their customers and sitting down would not have aided on board safety.



He said: "This is not normal practice, and we are carrying out an investigation as to why the train manager made this announcement. The train was overcrowded, and it may have been uncomfortable for people to stand – but there was no safety aspect to this. We suspect he was just being a bit over enthusiastic."

One regular Virgin customer, who was on the train but asked not to be named, said the announcement caused "mass confusion" among passengers. "I use the Pendolino service quite a lot and I've never heard of anything quite like it", the customer said. "I didn't know whether it was a joke or whether this was some uncommon safety procedure – everyone was just looking around wondering what to do. I didn't see anyone actually sit down, but there was definitely a few looks around to see if somebody else was going to do it."