A NORTH YORKSHIRE pensioner was among hundreds of people trapped on a broken-down train as temperatures soared to 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Michael Steed, a retired journalist from Easingwold, said people around him began to panic and pass out as the heat inside the carriages rose.

Hitting out at the "slow" reaction by train chiefs to the travellers' plight, he said "passenger power" came into play when some people broke windows to get air.

Mr Steed, 70, was on the 3.55pm GNER train from Newcastle to Kings Cross, which ground to a halt outside Peterborough at 5.25pm yesterday because of an overhead power failure.

He said passengers were advised not to leave the train and were told a replacement diesel engine was on its way.

He said the temperature inside was "unbearable" and a passenger near him had been able to measure it 115 degrees Fahrenheit. People were getting dehydrated and a few fainted.

"A number of people panicked and smashed windows to get air."

Speaking after the drama, he told the Evening Press: "They were very slow to react to the situation. Eventually they let us off the train. But with a train of nine carriages they only had one ladder to get down so the majority of passengers were jumping from the train including older people and those who felt quite ill.

"Then, after about half an hour, everything swung into action - a police helicopter came four times, ferrying water." Paramedics, the fire brigade and police also arrived at the trackside to give emergency treatment - several people were treated for minor breathing difficulties.

GNER posted an urgent notice on its website saying there was no estimate to the extent of delays to trains.

A spokesman at the scene described it as a major incident saying: "The priority is to help the people who are really quite ill."

Another passenger, Simon Walker, said people "rebelled" after conditions became "unbearable".

"They ran out of water and in the end they were giving away everything free. I've seen people walking around with bottles of champagne just to get some liquid."

Civil servant John Hardman, 58, from Scarborough, and his wife, Margaret, 55, caught the train at York. He said conditions were "absolutely stifling".

"It was like a greenhouse. There were no windows to open and they kept saying they couldn't open the doors," he said.

The stranded trains began to move shortly before 10pm.

GNER says sorry for disruption

RAIL operator GNER today said sorry to passengers caught up in last night's delays, caused by damage to overhead power lines.

A spokesman said: "We fully appreciate how unpleasant an experience this has been for our passengers and we apologise to them.

"A full and detailed investigation into what happened is already under way."

Direct trains from Kings Cross were cancelled, leaving passengers to use a special service to Stevenage, from where a bus was laid on to Peterborough. From there, travellers were able to use trains again.

Staff were not able to tell passengers the extent of the delays.

GNER said any passengers caught up in the chaos should contact them so they could be "fully compensated" for delays and inconvenience.

Services were back to normal today, apart from a couple of cancellations on the Leeds route.

Updated: 10:16 Friday, June 24, 2005