Network Rail Manager Resigns Following Stranding Incident

Michelle Handforth steps down after an overhead cable fault leaves passengers stranded for hours near London’s Paddington Station.

Michelle Handforth, the managing director for Network Rail's Wales and Western region, has resigned following an incident that left passengers stranded for hours.
Handforth's resignation comes after an overhead cable fault caused all trains to come to a standstill near London’s Paddington Station on December 7, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in cold, dark carriages.
Affected services included the National Rail, Elizabeth Line, and Heathrow Express, with some passengers reporting a lack of information from rail operators and no access to toilets.
Prior to the incident, there had been multiple system faults and damaged rails leading to repeated delays.
Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, has called for Network Rail to invest properly in the maintenance of its infrastructure, and for Transport Secretary Mark Harper to provide adequate funding.