Bedbugs have again been reported inside Southeastern train passenger carriages travelling between London and Kent.
Six services were cancelled on Thursday after insects were seen crawling between two seats, The Telegraph can disclose.
A Southeastern Railway City Beam service scheduled to run into London was withdrawn after the parasites were found – and photographed – on passenger seats.
However, the government-owned train company said: “There have been no bedbugs found on Southeastern trains in areas used by passengers.”
The outbreak was discovered on a train that operates from Slade Green Depot in Bexley at around 6.30am on Thursday. Like the affected Hastings trains in September, these services call at London Charing Cross.
Photographs showed a red bedbug on a passenger seat, and another in between two seats upholstered in Southeastern’s distinctive blue-and-black livery.
A separate internal email, also sent on Thursday morning, said: “A driver in Hastings train crew rom [sic] reported three bed bugs on a poster near the door.”
An internal incident log said an “infestation” was found by an “off-duty member of Kent Integrated Control Centre staff” before the train in question was removed from service upon arrival at Dartford, triggering knock-on cancellations.
Southeastern insisted that specialist contractors who checked the train did not find any trace of bedbugs in passenger areas.
The carriages, which had previously formed Thursday’s 5.55am Charing Cross to Dartford train, remained out of use on Friday.
Sources said that similar bedbugs were seen on the 10.45am Charing Cross to Hastings service on Thursday, resulting in the cancellation of the 12.50am departure in the opposite direction.
Southeastern trains were cancelled last month when staff found bugs crawling inside drivers’ cabs.
The incident, which affected the West Marina train depot near Hastings which serves routes between London and east Kent, was flagged after drivers found bugs crawling on their bags.
It led to a train – nicknamed the Bedbug Express – running on Sept 29 with two carriages locked and out of use after a driver saw the insects at one end of the train.
According to internal messages sent at the time, drivers had refused even to get aboard affected trains and accused bosses of failing to take the issue seriously.
Steve White, the managing director of Southeastern, later said that “two driver cabs (out of 800) have been treated and the furniture in a depot”.
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staff Association trade union: “Passengers boarding trains should not have to worry about taking bed bugs home, and our transport workers deserve to feel safe at work.
“It’s vital that train operators act quickly, thoroughly cleaning affected carriages and delivering professional pest treatment where needed. Passengers and staff must have reassurance that the problem has been dealt with properly.”
David Wornham, customer experience director at Southeastern, said: “We are disappointed that The Daily Telegraph has continued to imply that bedbugs are on our railway.
“Despite a number of suspected sightings, found to be other insects, expert contractors have confirmed that there have been no bedbugs found on Southeastern trains in areas used by passengers.
“That was the case two weeks ago and remains the case today.”