TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes accused Virgin of being “disingenuous” and said Mr Corbyn had “highlighted this daily travel blight which means people sit on floors on trains every day because of overcrowding”.
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CCTV footage taken from the three-hour Virgin Trains service on August 11 also shows Mr Corbyn taking a seat around 45 minutes into the journey – once the team had finished.
Billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who co-owns Virgin Trains with Stagecoach, posted a link to the images on his Twitter account.
The rail company took issue with Mr Corbyn after he complained in a video he had to sit on the floor because of “completely ram-packed” carriages on a service between London and Newcastle.
Calling for the railways to be renationalised, he said: “This is a problem that many passengers face every day, commuters and long-distance travellers”.
Virgin Trains confirmed the CCTV footage showed Mr Corbyn and his team walking past available seating before starting filming.
Jeremy Corbyn’s team has insisted the Labour leader could not find an unreserved seat when he got on a train – amid a row with Virgin Trains.
The video was recorded on August 11, while Corbyn was riding the 11am service from London King’s Cross to Newcastle.
A Virgin Trains spokesperson said they would encourage Mr Corbyn to “book ahead” next time to reserve a seat – but they look forward to welcoming him on board again.
In the brief film of Mr Corbyn, the Labour leader lamented the lack of available seats on the train, saying his only option would have been to upgrade to first class.
According to the BBC, Mr Corbyn found a seat in a free carriage and sat for the rest of the journey following the filming. The gesture gained substantial traction in the media and on social media, with Corbyn suggesting public ownership of the line to solve the capacity issue.
Corbyn was travelling on the train on his way to take part in a Labour leadership debate with Owen Smith in Gateshead. The staff on the train are absolutely brilliant, working really hard to help everybody.
“The reality is there’s not enough trains, we need more of them, and they’re also incredibly expensive”.
Mr Corbyn also backed the train worker strikes earlier this year, which caused disruption to services.
Harrison added Corbyn and his party had been seated together, which could explain why he had chose to wait for more spaces to become available.
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Some Corbyn supporters had used the video as example of how they say Corbyn is more in touch with the lives of ordinary people than his Conservative opponents.
