Commuters risk death on track as train is stuck for four hours

Commuters were labelled "extremely foolish" today for risking death by jumping onto the tracks at one of London's busiest interchanges.

They became desperate after their train dragged down 25,000-volt overhead cables just outside Stratford station. Passengers were stuck standing in packed carriages for up to four hours.

Some became so frustrated they forced open the doors and jumped onto the criss-cross of lines, live wires and fallen cables. A Network Rail spokesman called their actions yesterday "extremely foolish", adding: "They could have been seriously injured or worse." It emerged that an emergency plan to evacuate passengers by pulling another train alongside had failed.

The National Express East Anglia service to Hertford, with 120 people on board, was approaching Stratford when it lost power just before 5pm. Its pantograph, the conducting arms on the roof that carry power from the overhead cables to the train, had become entangled in the cables.

Network Rail engineers arrived at 6.30pm and told passengers who had jumped onto the tracks to get back on the train. Commuters waited until nearly 8pm before they were put onto buses. An investigation is under way to establish why the emergency evacuation did not happen. Hannah Frankson, 22, a sports coach from Havering, said: "All the lights went off. We were 100m from Stratford. The train was packed with people standing up and sitting on the floor. People were getting angry.

"Windows were locked and it took 45 minutes for a man to give us fresh air."