'Mosh pit' mayhem for commuters fighting for space on train to Exeter

COMMUTERS say they're being pushed, shoved and even injured during the evening rush-hour train from Exeter to Barnstaple, as overcrowding on the line reaches boiling point.

- by LEWIS CLARKE

The crush to board the GWR 5.15pm service from Exeter to Barnstaple

The 5.15pm Great Western Railway (GWR) service leaving Exeter Central has become so crammed that passengers describe the experience as “almost violent’, with some claiming the scramble to board has left people injured.

Tim Steer, chair of Railfuture’s Devon and Cornwall branch, said passengers have been forming groups to jostle their way onto the train.

“This is getting to the point where it's a health and safety problem,’ Tim said. “We need to see the new class 175s introduced as five or six-carriage units to cope with capacity.”

He added that a mix of college students and workers on the service had led to “alpha” groups pushing their way to the front, creating challenges for station staff.