AN OUTRAGED pensioner has slammed Great Western Railway for the way it handled Saturday’s train delay fiasco after he was forced to stand for hours while trying to get home from London.

Michael Hursey, 76, called the situation “an absolute shambles” as hundreds of passengers endured bank holiday rail chaos due to a signalling failure between Swindon and Didcot Parkway.

He had arrived at London Paddington to get the 6.27pm express train to Swindon but instead was greeted with no service whatsoever.

Instead, Michael joined fellow passengers, desperate to get home, on a slower service to Reading.

Once at Reading, Michael described the station as “overflowing” and dangerous, with hundreds of passengers standing shoulder to shoulder on the platform, eager to get a spot on a train heading west.

“The whole thing was absolutely disgraceful and fortunately for me, I wasn’t in the back two carriages of the train where people had to move forward for some reason,” he said.

“Then we had this 40-minute standing time and we were packed in there like sardines.

“I had to stand for that time and then do the rest of the journey stood up as well because there were no seats left. People were jostling to get onto the train itself.

“People were quite distressed and it was very difficult to get past anyone.

"There were people who had to go out because they were overcome by the heat or by being squashed and I think one had to be taken to hospital.”

Michael was just one of hundreds of passengers who were stuck on halted trains and stranded at stations including Swindon until well into the evening on Saturday.

The signalling fault caused major disruption, with services to Wales and the south west affected even after the lines were re-opened just after 8.30pm.

To ease the congestion, travellers were told their tickets would be accepted by other companies on alternative routes or advised to put off their journeys until Sunday.

A journey that should have taken Michael an hour instead took over three and now he hopes GWR provide distressed passengers compensation for the inconvenience caused.

“It is not unusual for trains to be delayed these days but I want to know what happened exactly,” he added.

“I shall be writing a letter to ask for some compensation although I actually think there should be more than that to everyone who had to stand the whole way. It was disgraceful that it went on for that time.

“Staff at the station didn’t provide anything. You would have thought that in a big station like Reading, there would be some sort of preparation if something untoward happened like this or even a bottle of water given to people.

“We were not given any information from people apart from the occasional one that the train was going to be cancelled or delayed.It was an absolute shambles and I think the public have the right to know what happened.”

A Great Western Railway spokesman said: “We’re sorry for the delays and crowded services experienced by some customers on Saturday following problems with signalling and safety equipment in the Thames Valley area. Network Rail teams worked hard to resolve the issues as quickly as possible, but trains were affected for most of the afternoon and evening.

"Customers affected by delays may be able to claim compensation - full details are available at GWR.com.”