Train Driver Left 109 Passengers Stranded Mid-Journey After Clocking Off The Minute His Shift Ended

Passengers were left stranded on a Renfe train in Santander (Picture: REX Features)

A train driver in Spain left 109 passengers stranded after clocking off because he had reached the maximum number of hours that he could work.

The train, which was operated by state-run company Renfe, had departed the northern city of Santander at 7PM last night as it headed for Madrid.

But as the train pulled into the village of Osorno two and a quarter hours later, the driver left the train and told passengers that he had ‘he had exceeded his shift hours.’

However, with no driver to take over on the route, 109 passengers soon realised that they had become stranded in the small village.

Under Spanish law, drivers are not permitted to work more than six hours straight in order to prevent accidents caused by tiredness.

Eventually, Renfe paid for a coach and a taxi to ferry all 109 passengers to their intended destination - and say that they will receive a refund.

A spokesman for Renfe said: ‘Renfe would like to reiterate its apologies to all the affected passengers and regrets the inconvenience that this incident caused them.’

The man’s decision to leave the train comes after a train crash in the Spanish city of Galicia last week, which killed 4 people and injured 48 others.

An investigation based on information provided by the train’s black boxes revealed that it had been travelling some four times faster than the speed advised for the area where the incident occurred.