George Freeman claimed a platform worker ‘smirked’ after refusing to hold up a train after a connecting service was delayed.
A transport minister has launched a furious rant after a platform worker instructed a train to depart, despite seeing him running towards it.
George Freeman said he was left “stranded for an hour” because the 9.09am Greater Anglia service from Cambridge to Attleborough on Tuesday morning was not held up for him.
The Tory MP described how he was one of five passengers who “sprinted” along the platform after a connecting service from London King’s Cross was delayed.
He expressed his frustration in a series of tweets to Greater Anglia, stating that the member of staff responsible for dispatching trains could see them running but chose to close the doors and instruct the driver to depart.
The worker then “smirked and ignored us”, the MP for Mid Norfolk added.
Greater Anglia replied that “in most cases” it cannot hold trains when services run by other operators are late.
Mr Freeman responded: “Not even for 15 seconds when passengers from a connection are AT THE DOOR?!”
The company apologised and accepted “there should have been some discretion”.
The MP said it was a “huge honour” when he was appointed as a transport minister by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month.
His portfolio includes technology, innovation, decarbonisation and connectivity.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — At least 55 people were hurt, two seriously, when a Metro light rail train and a University of Southern California shuttle bus collided Tuesday along a busy thoroughfare in downtown Los Angeles, officials said.
The crash happened shortly before noon along Exposition Boulevard, near the USC campus and Natural History Museum, according to the LA Fire Department.
Two victims were hospitalized with serious injuries and 16 others were transported in fair condition, the department said. Another 37 people were treated at the scene.
Dave Sotero, a spokesperson for LA Metro, said the bus crossed into the path of an E Line train. The light rail line runs from East Los Angeles to downtown Santa Monica mostly along streets, and not all of the crossings have gates.
Genesis Hernandez was transferring from a Metro bus to catch the E Line to Santa Monica, where she attends college when “all of a sudden I just saw a bunch of ambulances going by,” she recalled.
The 19-year-old was able to view the crash scene from a platform at the Expo/Vermont Metro station. “The bus definitely got crunched on its front end,” she said. “The train didn't look too damaged.”
Television news footage showed the left side of the red and white bus smashed against the first car of the train. The front section of the bus had significant damage.
The Starcraft 40-passenger bus was traveling westbound on Exposition Boulevard with only the driver and one passenger aboard when the collision occurred, according to a statement from USC Transportation. The bus driver and passenger were the two most severely injured, according to fire department officials.
There were more than 150 passengers on the Santa Monica-bound Metro train, officials said.
Sotero said the Los Angeles Police Department would be in charge of the investigation.
“Metro offers its sympathy to those injured in the accident,” Sotero said in an email.
Exposition Boulevard was closed in both directions during the initial investigation. Metro said its train service would be limited and buses would be used to get passengers through the crash area.
__ Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
A Metro light rail train resumes service in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Officials say multiple people were hurt, and a few seriously, when a Metro light rail train and a University of Southern California shuttle bus collided in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A Metro light rail train returns to service in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Officials say multiple people were hurt, and a few seriously, when a Metro light rail train and a University of Southern California shuttle bus collided in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, firefighters respond to the scene of an accident where a shuttle bus collided with a Metro light rail train on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (KABC via AP)
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, firefighters respond to the scene of an accident where a shuttle bus collided with a Metro light rail train on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (KABC via AP)
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, firefighters respond to the scene of an accident where a shuttle bus collided with a Metro light rail train on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (KABC via AP)
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, firefighters respond to the scene of an accident where a shuttle bus collided with a Metro light rail train on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (KABC via AP)
A Metro light rail train service after a crash in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Officials say multiple people were hurt, and a few seriously, when a Metro light rail train and a University of Southern California shuttle bus collided in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A Metro light rail train returns to service in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The LA Fire Department says a crash happened shortly before noon Tuesday along Exposition Boulevard, near the USC campus and the Natural History Museum. Officials say multiple people were hurt when a train and a University of Southern California shuttle bus collided. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
