Hold outside Liverpool Street - can anyone explain?

[stuartroy]

On Friday morning, shortly before 1100, I arrived on the inner rail SSR platform at Liverpool Street, to find an Amersham train waiting in the tunnel just short of the platform.  There was no train in the platform, nothing had just left and indeed to judge from the crowd on the platform, there hadn't been a departure for quite a while.

A service interval hold didn't seem likely, as the train had only just left Aldgate and presumably would have done so on schedule.  In any case, such a hold would surely normally take place at a platform.  And, as I say, there was nothing obviously preventing the train from entering the platform.  I couldn't see whether it was held at a red signal or had stopped "voluntarily".  I don't know how long it had been stationary, but it stayed put for about 3-4 minutes after I arrived and then eventually drew into the platform, thereafter running normally.

Any explanation for this seemingly strange behaviour?

[vato]

My guess is that is the procedure to allow staff to access the track to retrieve items dropped by passengers.

[rincew1nd]

That was my thought, but the OP reports nothing of that ilk. I suppose it is possible that the items had just been retrieved as the OP walked onto the platform.

[Chris M]

It is also possible that a technician was using the train as protection while fixing something out of view of the platform.

[stuartroy]

Some interesting thoughts. I certainly didn't see any activity by staff, although the platform was quite crowded, and as mentioned the "incident" may already have been over by the time I arrived. Thank you.

[stapler]

When this happened at Leytonstone once many years ago, in the time of the 62s, I saw the driver of the affected train on the platform at Loughton later. When I asked him what the cause of the delay was, he showed me a milk bottle half full of yellow liquid. Ugh!

[Deleted]

I've seen this outside the tunnels between West Kensington and Earls Court. The train stopped. A technician got out and replaced a light bulb in the signal which had failed.