Fury as Lumo train departs on 417-mile '5-hour' journey with no working toilets on board
The rail operator said facilities were out of use due to a fault
A train operator has sparked fury after all of its on board toilets were out of use when it departed on a 417-mile journey from London to Scotland.
Listen to this article
Lumo has apologised to passengers over the lack of toilets available on board its 06:11 service from London Euston to Stirling in Scotland.
It wrote on X: “Apologies to those boarding our 06:11 service from #LondonEuston to #Stirling are advised that there are no toilet facilities on this train due to a fault.
“Please do speak to our onboard staff for further advice/assistance.”
Social media users have flooded the comment section venting their fury.
“There should be regulations disallowing the running of a long distance train without toilet facilities. Over 400 miles and no chance of a pee? Not acceptable,” one wrote.
Another commented: “6 hours, no toilet! Taking the piss literally. Surely this train shouldn’t run.”
Read more: Rail chaos as power failure brings trains across England to a standstill
⚠️Apologies to those boarding our 06:11 service from #LondonEuston to #Stirling are advised that there are no toilet facilities on this train due to a fault.
— Lumo (@LumoTravel) August 7, 2026
Please do speak to our onboard staff for further advice/assistance.
A third added: “This is shocking. As someone with a medical condition, I can find myself needing a wee once every hour on some days. How can you justify running a service under these circumstances?”
Lumo’s services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) between London Euston and Stirling, central Scotland, have continued to operate despite all onboard toilets being out of use.
Lumo’s 06:11 service also ran with a 58-minute delay and terminated at Motherwell, according to The National.
The journey from London to Stirling is 417 miles long.
It comes just a day after rail chaos on the train network sparked disruption across the North West and Greater Manchester due to a signal failure across England.
The train companies affected included Lumo, as well as Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales.
A Lumo spokesperson said: "We have been experiencing some issues with the reliability of some of our onboard toilet facilities onboard our West Coast services. We are working closely with Alstom to rectify the issues."
Alstom refurbished the trains for Lumo.
An Alstom spokesperson said: “We recognise that this falls short of the standard fare-paying passengers should expect, particularly on long-distance services.
“Working closely with Lumo, we are reviewing the entire fleet position to reduce the risk of repeat failures, improve overnight servicing checks, and ensure toilet availability is restored and maintained wherever possible on the operator’s West Coast route.”