UK rail firm blames strong sunlight for delays

Rail passengers on one of the Britain's railway networks were left baffled after being told trains were delayed due to "strong sunlight" that affected the vision of drivers.
Southeastern railway company took to Twitter yesterday in an attempt to explain delays and congestion on services from Lewisham in south-east London.
"We had severe congestion through Lewisham due to dispatching issues as a result of strong sunlight. The low winter sun has been hitting the dispatch monitor which prevents the driver from being able to see," the rail firm tweeted.
The firm, which operates passenger services from the capital to Kent and East Sussex, said the Sun prevented drivers from checking CCTV monitors in south east London, leading to 117 cancellations across London and the south east.

People stranded on platforms spoke out of their confusion and anger at the announcement.
"What are @Southeastern going to come up with next? Too wet, too hot, too cold... But too sunny?!," one person tweeted.
"We know that sometimes it seems that if it is not leaves on the line or snow on the track then it is some other weather issue. But actually glare this morning made it impossible for some drivers to see the full length of their train in their mirrors before leaving stations.
"When this happens they have to get out and check to ensure everybody has got on or off the train safely before they can move. This can take a little more time but thankfully for all it doesn't happen very often," a spokesman for Southeastern said.