'Mad scenes' as desperate Southeastern passengers flee stranded trains and walk down rail lines after waiting hours in the snow

Police have been called to round up hoards of people after they started walking down icy tracks.

Shocking scenes have emerged in Lewisham after desperate passengers stranded for three hours fled through emergency exits and began walking down the tracks.

Southeastern trains were being held due to frozen rails when one impatient passenger opened the carriage doors and made their way on foot down the lines.

As the mutiny escalated, Network Rail was forced to turn the power off as more and more people began flooding out of their carriages onto the tracks.

Customers said they lost patience after being forced to stand for hours with no heating, lights or proper toilet facilities.

Mutiny: Passengers walked down the snowy tracks
@thelukeharvey

Emergency services rushed to the scene to attempt to round up trespassers and rail companies issued warnings over safety and further delays.

Passengers called on the rail company to "get a grip" and perform a proper evacuation rather than leaving hundreds of people stuck in-between stations.

Southeastern implored passengers to stop, tweeting: “IMPORTANT! If you're on a stuck train outside a station and tempted to leave the train.

"DON'T! We won't run trains through the area until we know everyone is off the track - the more people on the track, the longer this will take. If you see someone about to do it, TELL THEM NOT TO!”

Network Rail said they had been "hand clearing conductor rail to rescue two trapped trains at #Lewisham when our manager found people on the track".

Passengers fled the train using the emergency exit
Twitter/@CafcReeve

"He had to turn the power off to stop the trespassers from being killed and now more trains are late. Please, stay on your trains. #Lewisham

"To be clear - power was off on two iced tracks. With passengers walking in the dark, now all tracks are shut after New Cross #Lewisham."

The mutiny was sparked after passengers reported being stranded for hours on packed carriages as they awaited assistance.

Some even said that customers were forced to urinate into cups due to overflowing toilets.

Evacuated: They were escorted by LAS

People described the incident as "madness" and said the rail network had been "complete meltdown today and the last few days" due to snow and ice hitting the country. One said the Incident iN Lewisham was "just appalling".

Others reported furious passengers beginning to fight with eachother as tempers flared.

One woman wrote: "Been on a train trying to get home for 3 hours now. 2 1/2 hours spent between #Lewisham and #Blackheath with hordes of ppl having jumped off @Se_Railway what exactly are you doing?

"You’ve been saying you’re about to turn the power back on for about an hour now."

Another said: "Three-and-a-half hours now. No toilet, heating, lights. #TRAINMAGEDDON."

Chaos: Customers were hemmed in
@thelukeharvey

Commuter Luke Harvey showed images of passenger hemmed into the carriages – with most standing in the aisles.

He reported being on a stationary train for more than 40 minutes before sharing a picture of hoards of people walking along the tracks.

Evacuation: Passengers walked down the tracks
LAS

Video footage even showed one passenger kicking in the toilet door after he could not get in to use the facilities.

British Transport Police, the Met and London Fire Brigade were at the scene attempting gather up people on the tracks.

Southeastern said it was "really sorry" for the delays but warned that the longer the power was turned off, the more likely it would be that the tracks began icing up again - sparking further disruption.

BTP said it had "deployed all available officers and our emergency response teams" to evacuate passengers.

They added: "Whilst we understand peoples concerns & frustration, please, please remain on the trains.

Chaos: passengers being helped from a train near Lewisham
Eleanor Mawrey

"We are working with rail staff to evacuate passengers from a number of services along the line but please be assured we will get to you as soon as we are physically able to #Lewisham"

The chaos came after customers travelling from Waterloo were warned to travel early amid plans for all services to be halted after 8pm.

A Southeastern spokesman said: "There are currently severe delays to trains in the Lewisham area following a serious trespass incident.

"Several passengers have forced open the doors on a train and disembarked while it was stopped outside of the station.

"We've had to turn the power off for safety reasons, and Southeastern staff are currently working closely with Network Rail and the police to clear the trespassers from the tracks so that we can get trains moving again.

"We completely understand that passengers on delayed and busy trains may be frustrated, but they simply must stay on the train for their own safety. These trespassers risk being electrocuted by the 'third' rail or hit by other trains. They're also causing significant further delay for other passengers that our staff are working hard to get home."

Power was back on shortly after 9.30pm, by which time some people had been waiting almost five hours.

A Southeastern spokesman said at 10.15pm that trains were moving again and would be running to their planned destinations.

"We're very sorry for the delay to their journeys," he added. "Any passengers delayed by 30 minutes or more as a result of this disruption, can claim Delay Repay compensation at double the normal value."

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