A TRAIN company has apologised to passengers from Oxford who were forced to ride in the toilet and the floor because of overcrowding.

The train in question was the Saturday 3.55pm service from Oxford to London Paddington, and carriages were so loaded with people that some had no choice but to travel in the toilet or on the carriage floor.

The picture above was taken in the First Class carriage.

The Mail contacted Great Western Railways' press office for comment.

James Davis, the company's media manager, explained: "This train was formed of five carriages rather than nine on Sunday, due to the availability of trains - other trains requiring maintenance - which means that we had to operate this service with five carriages; rather than nine or ten.

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"It was also the last day of the Wilderness Festival, with more passengers seeking to travel than usual.

He said: "We’re sorry that we had to operate the service as a five carriage and not nine carriage service.

"We had a number of issues affecting the availability of trains; as a result instead of cancelling the train we had to run the service with five carriages.

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"Customers who had a seat reservation but were unable to sit are entitled to a refund and we would encourage them to get in touch."

Claims can be filed online at the GWR website and to contact GWR about the request call 03457 00012 or e-mail GWR.feedback@GWR.com.

The company advertises that they aim to respond to all complaints within 5 days of receiving it.