A defiant Spanish train driver left over 100 passengers stranded 300km from their destination after stopping apparently because his shift had ended.
The train from Spain's north coast suddenly stopped in the village of Osorno at 9.15pm, two hours away from its destination of Madrid.
After waiting for 15 minutes, confused passengers eventually discovered the driver was refusing to work overtime so had simply stopped for the day. He had reportedly requested a replacement numerous times.
One passenger told newspaper El Diario Montanes: “They said the driver had decided to stop because he had finished his day’s work and didn’t want to risk an accident by working excessive hours.”
Passengers on the train, operated by Spanish state rail network Renfe, were told that a replacement bus service was on its way. However, the bus to Madrid did not pick them up until 11.30pm.
“Would it not be easier to find another train driver,” complained a disgruntled passenger.
An image published by El Diario Montanes shows fed-up passengers waiting in their seats for news. It was captioned (in Spanish): "The driver asked for a replacement "several times" before he stopped the train."
Renfe has since apologised, refunded all the passengers’ fares and launched an investigation.
A spokesman for the Semaf rail workers’ union described the case as “exceptional”, stating that the driver had asked for another driver to travel on board in order to replace him.
“They should have had a substitute driver lined up but it didn’t happen. We’ve seen similar things in the past,” said Semaf secretary Carlos Segura.
