Rachel Riley and James Blunt were caught up in the Elizabeth Line pandemonium on Thursday evening, when a power failure held people on their trains for hours.
Commuters were furious as the new £19,000,000,000 rail line plummeted trains into semi-darkness at Paddington Station, trapping them on overcrowded cars.
After more than three hours of waiting, several disgruntled passengers broke their way out of the chilly, dark carriages and went down the tracks to escape.
A lady collapsed on her train, according to a mother with a newborn, while another passenger claimed passengers were forced to use their seats as toilets.
TV actress Rachel Riley and musician James Blunt were among the hundreds detained.
‘I’ve been stranded somewhere outside Paddington for close to 4 hours now,’ the 49-year-old You’re Beautiful singer posted on X, previously Twitter. ‘From peanuts and wine.’
Been stuck somewhere outside Paddington for close to 4 hours now. Out of peanuts and wine. Can someone please contact @Dominos_UK. This is an emergency. https://t.co/Jr2I68AMlI
— James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) December 7, 2023
‘Can someone please contact @Dominos_UK. This is an emergency.’
Of course, in classic James fashion, this admission escalated into online comedy gold then when the pizza chain’s social media team replied with: ‘Got a car packed with pizzas for you James. Our boot is full, it’s true.’
‘Great,’ he replied, with a sobering request: ‘There just over a thousand of us.’
Other trapped passengers requested James come to their carriage and sing a song, while a coach G commuter on one of the trains, Mark McWilliams, wrote: ‘James, I think we’re on the same train. There’s a very gracious passenger here in coach G – she offered me her seat and beer and she would love to meet you.’
Meanwhile Countdown star Rachel, 37, wrote: ‘Nearly 4 hours after we got on, we’re getting off the Elizabeth line, woohoo!’
She also shared some ecstatic photos of herself, seeming delighted to be out of the horrible scenario.
The host also posed for a photo with a TfL worker in high-vis, who appeared dazed by the evening’s mayhem.
‘This poor TfL guy has had quite the night,’ she wrote, alongside the picture, in which Rachel beamed merrily.
One of Rachel’s followers Michael Smith commented: ‘How did you all stay so happy?’
Another X user, Matthew Evans, wrote: ‘4 hours and no toilet? How did everyone cope?’
During rush hour, trains between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport ceased operations due to damage to overhead lines.
According to a Network Rail spokeswoman, the impacted overhead cables were in the Ladbroke Grove neighbourhood.
‘We are so sorry for the difficult journeys passengers endured on our railway last night and we will be investigating how and why it happened,’ a spokesperson said today.
‘The knock-on effects from last night mean operators will not be able to run a full service from Paddington today and passengers should check before they travel.
‘Repairs are ongoing and we hope to have the railway fully open by the weekend.’
