MP Secures Apology For Stranded Schoolchildren

The Managing Director of First Great Western, Mark Hopwood, has apologised to Richard Younger-Ross for an incident last December when schoolchildren were stranded on Torre station resulting in more than a two hour delay before they got home.

Mr Hopwood accepted that leaving the children on the platform for such a long length of time (many of them under 16 years) was 'unacceptable' and has said he will do everything he can to make sure this does not happen again. The delay had been due to a mechanical failure on one of the trains which meant that some services were cancelled, but he admits that road transport should have been provided.

Said Mr Younger-Ross "stranded on an unmanned station meant the children had no way of knowing what was going on. It was only through worried parents ringing them on their mobiles that they got to know what was happening. I welcome Mr Hopwood's apologies and hope this situation will not be repeated."

Last November Mr Younger-Ross met with First Great Western's Managing Director to discuss a number of local concerns regarding school services, one being overcrowding on school trains to and from Torbay. The MP has been informed that First Great Western are close to an agreement with the Department for Transport that will see the class 142 fleet replaced by Class 50 trains which can carry a lot more passengers.