Southeastern Rail users boil in 'furnace' as trains' heating is 'put on full blast' as temperatures soar

Commuters told of their misery after the glitch hit rush hour trains
Furnace trains: The heating was left on as temperatures soar to 29C
Gareth Fuller/PA
Chloe Chaplain23 August 2016

Commuters were left sweltering on Southeastern trains after they claimed the heating was turned up to full-blast in the middle of an August heatwave.

As London temperatures are set to reach 29C today, rail users complained that trains have become a “furnace” with hot air blasting out of vents.

Carol Murphy, a TV correspondence coordinator, commutes from Battle in East Sussex to Waterloo East each day and told the Standard her boiling hot train journey was “unbearable”.

But Southeastern said the heating was not left on and the air conditioning system was circulating warm air from outside.

“It's August, it's going to be 30 degrees today and we are packed in like sardines anyway,” she said.

“I am menopausal so having hot flushes roughly every 20 minutes in any case. It is impossible under normal circumstances, but when you have heat blasting out at you, you may as well just shoot yourself and get it over with.”

The train driver made no explanation as to why the train was so hot, despite desperate commuters tweeting Southeastern.

Disgruntled passengers pleaded with the company on social media to do something and pointed out that people did not have water with them in the boiling trains.

Ms Murphy said fortunately no one was taken ill on her carriage but there were a lot of complaints about the conditions.

She said: “They are usually frying us or freezing us, there is no sensible temperature, ever.

“I carry a coat in the summer for the crazy air-con, and a coat in the winter for when they forget to put the heating on. They do love to tease us, the little minxes!”

As well as her train being uncomfortably hot, Ms Murphy added that it arrived twenty minutes late and made her late for work.

“I've done this for eight years now,” she said.

“You develop a certain mentality and a thicker skin, and all kinds of other skills and strategies to stay sane.”

A spokesman for Southeastern said: “The heating was not left on any of the services travelling on the Hastings line this morning.

"Rather some of our trains are built without air conditioning but have air ventilation, which takes air from the outside and circulates it around the train, meaning that sometimes what comes out is warm.

"All trains without air conditioning have windows that can be opened by passengers, but we understand it can get hot for passengers during the summer. For this reason, we recommend that people carry a bottle of water with them on their journey."

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