Train staff on board the high speed train which was the scene of a suspected Islamic extremist attack yesterday have been accused of barricading themselves in their staffroom and locking the door, leaving passengers to fend for themselves.

The Moroccan terrorist was disarmed and beaten unconscious by US servicemen and a British man after he opened fire on a Paris-bound train with a Kalashnikov.

Now, French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade, who was on board the Thalys train during the attack has slammed train staff who he claims locked themselves in an office away from the attacker and refused to help the trapped passengers.

But the head of Thalys, the train company that ran the train on which the attempted attack took place, denied that passengers were abandoned.

The actor told Paris Match: 'We heard screaming passengers in English, 'He shoots! He shoots! He has a Kalashnikov!''

The actor, who was travelling with his two children and his girlfriend, said: 'Suddenly, members of the crew ran into the hallway and their faces were pale.'

He said the staff hurried towards their own car on the train and opened it 'with a special key' before they locked themselves inside.