Letter: Stiff upper lips

Sir: Your report "Trains in collision at London Bridge" (9 January) said "panic occurred"on "packed commuter trains" that were "plunged into darkness". This hardly describes the accident I experienced on Friday evening.

Commuters? Your report tells us the trains were not leaving London at 5.30pm but coming in, with passengers more likely aiming for entertainment than work. Packed? Again, you say 200 passengers and 16 carriages - isn't that nearer half-empty? Darkness? Our carriage, at the point of collision, stayed lit for at least an hour. Panic? I wonder what life in The Independent's offices is like? If children and some adults screamed as the trains collided for several seconds, nobody thereafter jumped out of the train, ran about or did anything more startling than offer a mobile phone to a stranger or carry ice and glasses from the trolley, a stiff drink presumably stowed in the pockets. As one woman nearby observed, "Well, this is a conversation starter!"

JOHN KITCHER

Rye, East Sussex