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 | | Tuesday, 25 December, 2001, 19:50 GMT Rail firm inquiry into Christmas delay  Virgin has apologised for the delay Virgin Trains has promised a full inquiry into a four-hour delay which left 70 passengers stuck on a broken down train late on Christmas Eve. More than 70 people boarded the train at Manchester Piccadilly at 1730GMT on Monday. They expected to reach London Euston at 2000GMT, but instead arrived shortly before midnight, nearly seven hours after leaving. Virgin Trains issued an "unreserved apology" for the delay, caused when the train had technical problems at Stoke-on-Trent and broke down after limping into Tamworth station, Staffordshire. The firm has now promised an inquiry into the incident will be carried out after the Christmas break. Motorway crash Passenger Alistair Williams, who was travelling to London to spend Christmas with his family, told the BBC: "A lot of people were getting irate but personally I was anxious to come home." Virgin provided taxis for those who had missed their connections. A spokesman for the company said he hoped it had not ruined anyone's Christmas and every passenger would be compensated.
Meanwhile, six people were taken to hospital after a four-car pile-up on the M6, also on Monday evening. A 34-year-old man was thrown 30 feet from his car and taken to North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary with serious chest injuries. The man and a 48-year-old woman were kept in the hospital overnight. A five-year-old child and a six-month-old baby were also detained for observation. The accident closed one junction of the motorway, near Junction 14 near Stafford. Milder weather and staggered journeys had kept the great exodus to the homes of loved-ones running fairly smoothly.
Earlier, Eurostar passengers experienced delays of up to two hours in an otherwise calmer than usual day for Britain's transport networks. Four outbound trains and two inbound were cancelled due to problems encountered by the service on Sunday, including severe weather in northern France, Eurostar said. All UK airports are open with flights operating as normal over the Christmas period. At Manchester Airport, officials said they expect around 163,000 people will have flown out to destinations such as Alicante, Malta, Majorca and the Canary Islands between last Friday and New Year's Day. An airport spokeswoman said they expected up to 10,000 passengers to pass through the terminal on Christmas Day. For more rail information, see Ceefax p430 on BBC Two or call National Rail Inquiries on 08457 484950. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top UK stories now:  Links to more UK stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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