11hrs from London to Edinburgh – incuding a three-and-a-half-hour cab drive

Comedian James Nokise has told of an ‘insane’ train journey from London to Edinburgh – which took 11 hours after the service unexpectedly stopped at Preston.

Avanti West Coast turfed hundreds of passengers off the train in Lancashire, and eventually ordered them all taxis to complete their journey.

For the comic, that meant a 185-mile drive in a black cab with three strangers, which ended at 3.30am.

New Zealander Nokise kept his followers updated on social media, in a thread that has now been seen more than 6million times.

He set off at 4.40pm, and at 7.26pm  received an email stating that the train was cancelled, which was ‘a surprise’ as it was still moving.

Eventually the train staff were told too, and the service stopped at Preston where another train to Glasgow was being held.

But that was full, so passengers  were told to wait for the next train – which also got cancelled.

Nokise posted: ‘It turned out there were no more trains north after that and, excitingly, no forthcoming information. 

‘Around 9.20pm news came down: alternative transport had been arranged. Bus? An extra train? Horses? No. Taxis. For hundreds of people. To a city three-and-a-half hours away.’

At 10.30pm he was in the final group of travellers to get in a cab, describing the situation as ‘ridiculous’.

He added: "Perhaps, just possibly, throwing money at cab drivers and getting them to drive several hours in the middle of the night might not be the best contingency plan for train companies to have.’

I’m not quite sure how to explain what’s happened tonight, because it’s still happening - but here goes…

At 4:40pm I jumped on a train from London to Edinburgh..

It was comfy, it was quiet

In hindsight, too good to last…

— James Nokise (@JamesNokise) September 25, 2023

During the journey, Nokise received an email from Avanti West Coast telling him he would get £70 compensation, the cost of his ticket.

In his final post at 3.30am, he wrote: ‘Thanks for being on this journey with me Twitter. A truly insane odyssey. Five hours late, 11 hours after I jumped on the train. I’m going to have a shower and eat something. Let’s never do this again.’

An Avanti West Coast spokesman said: "We apologise to our customers who were caught up in last night’s disruption.

‘The closure of the West Coast Main Line for over three hours due to a track defect had a significant impact on our services, with trains and train crew unable to work our planned timetable resulting in cancellations of services north of Preston.

‘Whilst alternative transport and overnight accommodation was sourced for most of those impacted, we fully understand the frustrations of those customers whose journeys were affected, and we are extremely sorry for this.’

Avanti West Coast - whose advertising slogan is 'feel good travel; has been namedt he UK's worst-performing rail company for punctuality.

Last year, it paid shareholders £11.5 million in dividends, after receiving a subsidy of £725 million of taxpayer’s money. 

Published: 26 Sep 2023