Southeastern has pulled trains from service after staff discovered bedbugs crawling in the cabs of at least two trains and on drivers' bags. Carriages were sealed off following the discovery.
Services cancelled and carriages sealed
At least three services were cancelled on Friday, with further cancellations reportedly taking place after the first sighting was recorded on September 22, according to reports. Internal messages seen by The Telegraph indicate drivers have refused to board affected trains without wearing hazmat suits.
One train on Tuesday, nicknamed the Bedbug Express by insiders, was in service with two carriages locked and out of use to isolate passengers from being affected. It was then taken out of service for inspection.
Outbreak linked to depot
The outbreak is reportedly linked to the West Marina train care depot near Hastings, East Sussex, which serves the train company's routes between London and Kent. Sightings have also been reported on Southeastern's High Speed 1 line services, its high speed services between London and Kent, raising fears the bugs are spreading, The Telegraph reported. Southeastern says no bugs have been found on those services.
A Southeastern incident log from earlier this week said a driver had refused even to get into the cab of a train containing bedbugs to move it across the depot unless “provided with a white full-body protection suit ... in case any bugs transfer to themself” [sic]. It follows panic about bedbugs infesting UK trains three years ago, after an outbreak of the insects in Paris.
Company response
Described as “nits for fully grown adults”, the small brown insects hide in warm nooks and crevices of beds and other furniture, before creeping out at night to bite humans, causing spots and rashes. Removing them is typically expensive and time-consuming, and can involve disposing of infested large furnishings.
Oly Turner, Southeastern’s Head of Drivers, said: “We have a great relationship with our drivers, who have helped hugely in cooperating with us over these isolated incidents. When we receive reports such as these we check trains thoroughly before they are put back into service when given the all clear. Cases have been contained to the drivers cabs in only two of our trains and no bed bugs have been identified in areas for passengers. We continually carry out robust cleaning across our trains and stations, ensuring our customers and employees can travel safely and with confidence.”
