A rail union has said its members could take strike action over an outbreak of “potentially lethal” Legionella found on Thameslink trains.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has demanded “serious action” to end what it claims is a “reckless approach” and an “outright gamble” with the health of passengers and staff.

Thameslink said a “low level” of Legionella had been found in a small number of toilets, which had been drained and bleached.

The company, which operates cross-London services out of a number of areas including Cambridge and Brighton, added “there is no recorded case of anyone, ever, having contracted Legionella from a train”.

But the RMT said seven toilets on four trains had actionable traces of the bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires’ disease – a lung infection caused from the inhalation of infected droplets of water.

According to the NHS website, it is usually caught in “places like hotels, hospitals or offices” where the bacteria has entered the water supply.

Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease include a cough, difficulty breathing and a high temperature. It is an uncommon disease but can cause serious health issues.

The union claimed that, following the latest discovery, toilets were isolated, and called for an urgent meeting of the company’s Joint Safety Committee.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “RMT has been raising concerns for weeks now, and the latest cavalier approach from the company is pitifully inadequate and is an outright gamble with passenger and staff health.

“We have now declared a dispute and, be in no doubt, if we don’t get serious action we will ballot our members and do whatever is required to end this reckless approach to a potentially lethal situation on these increasingly busy trains.”

Rob Mullen, train services director at Thameslink, said: “A very low level of Legionella was found to be present during testing in a small number of our Thameslink Class 700 train toilets.

“While it is extremely unlikely this would cause any harm to passengers or colleagues, the toilets affected were immediately locked out of use.

“The trains were taken out of service and these toilets have now been drained, bleached and had their tanks completely re-filled.”

The company added in a statement: “Legionella can potentially be spread through atomised water droplets in the air in enclosed spaces, but water in our toilets is gravity-fed, which makes this extremely unlikely and further lowers the already very low risk.

“However, as a precaution, we immediately closed the affected toilets and took these trains out of service.

“All other parts of the trains were unaffected, including our air con systems, which do not use water (they use refrigeration to cool the air).

“Therefore, as Legionella spreads via water-based vapour, it is not possible for it to be present in our air con systems.”

Related posts:

Sturgeon says Scotland ‘likely’ to keep COVID restrictions for further three weeks Nearly nine in 10 areas in UK seeing rise in COVID cases Wales to ease COVID rules from Saturday – but face masks still needed indoors and on public transport Euro 2020 final could have been abandoned without police intervention, says Met Woman who stabbed husband to death took over 999 call and refused to give aid, court hears Bravery awards for police officers following eye-gouging attack in water-logged storm drain ‘Alarming’ falls in life expectancy before COVID hit, new data shows – see where is worst in England Friends of Stephen Port’s first victim claim police made assumptions because he was a sex worker Man dies and woman critically injured in west London stabbings Refusal to increase killer’s sentence after he strangled woman during sex is ‘ultimate victim-blaming’ Husband of Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe ends hunger strike as his daughter ‘needs two parents’ Arrests made after Extinction Rebellion protests block Lord Mayor’s Show in London