South Western Railway issues apology after racegoers complain of 'barbaric' queues at Ascot station on Thursday

South Western Railway has apologised to racegoers leaving Ascot on Thursday evening after complaints of overcrowding, delays and anti-social behaviour in and around the station.

Racegoers took to social media to express their frustrations at the queuing, with one user writing on X that it was an "absolutely barbaric system queuing for trains at Ascot".

The rail operator said the queuing system had worked "as intended" and that additional staff had been at the station to help passengers around the platforms and to board trains. It also denied any trains had left the station under capacity.

However, a spokesperson said that transport police had been required to deal with "some incidents of anti-social behaviour" in the queues and that there had been "incidents" on the line, one involving a trespasser and one with a bridge, that had led to short delays. The British Transport Police have been approached for comment.

The spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for any disruption that customers experienced travelling from Ascot yesterday evening.

 “Unfortunately, due to the police dealing with anti-social behaviour in the station’s queuing system, which is in place to ensure the safety of customers returning from Royal Ascot, there were some delays in boarding our services.

“Our station colleagues ensured that customers safely boarded services as quickly as possible and that trains were fully loaded, however, there were also separate incidents on our network that resulted in some late running services. Once again, we’re sorry for the disruption."

A total of 62,538 people attended Ascot on Thursday, and a spokesman for the course said there had been no requirement to implement protocols to ease overcrowding at the station, such as holding spectators at the track. 

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