VIRGIN trains have admitted their safety measure against overcrowding is that the train is too heavy to move.
In a series of tweets with customers, the company was asked to explain its upper limit for passengers.
The company eventually admitted there was no limit on the number of people it would squeeze into a carriage, adding: “If the train reaches a certain overall weight then the train would come to a stop.”
The revelation comes just days after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was photographed sitting on the floor of a “crowded” Virgin train which CCTV later proved had seats available.
Yesterday, Shaun McGuigan posted a picture of people standing on a packed train with the caption: “Any chance you could use your CCTV to try and find me a seat on this train?”
Twitter user, @jimmmmmlee, used the tweet as an opportunity to ask: “What is Virgin’s policy on selling tickets beyond seating capacity?”
Virgin replied: “The fact that we sell open tickets such as Off-Peak and Anytime tickets means we can never say for certain how many people will travel on one service.”
Perplexed by this response, @jimmmmmlee asked: “So how do you safeguard against overcrowding?”
Virgin answered: “If there are too many people on the train then the train isn’t able to move forward.”
@jimmmmmlee pressed: “How many is too many?”
The company replied: “There isn’t a fixed number but the train has a safety mechanism based on a weight limit.”
@jimmmmmlee asked: “How does that take into account other factors like baggage and weight of passengers?”
“If the train reaches a certain overall weight then the train would come to a stop,” came the reply.
Finally, @jimmmmmlee tweeted: “So the safety on trains is purely based on the total weight of the passengers and their luggage?”
Virgin confirmed: “That’s correct yes.”
@richardkirke commented: “This is so emblematic of the problems that emerge when utilities are run for profit.”
