A passenger was repeatedly run over by trains after falling onto the tracks on a London Underground line. The incident happened at Stratford station, a new report has today revealed, and the passenger died.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said in the build-up to the incident on Boxing Day 2023, the passenger had at 1.57pm got off a Jubilee Line train at the station before sitting on a platform bench opposite the point where they left the train.
At around 2.45pm, the passenger stood up, “but immediately stumbled forwards and fell from the platform onto the adjacent track,” the report said.
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“Unable to get to a position of safety, the passenger lay on thetrack undiscovered for around 5 minutes before being struck by an arriving train, which then stopped normally in the platform.
“The presence of the passenger remained unknown and a further three inbound trains entered the terminal platform and went through the location where the passenger was lying.”
The drivers of the first and second trains saw nothing, the report said. The third operator saw something but did not recognise it as a person.
CCTV image of the passenger on the bench (courtesy of LUL)
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Image:
LUL)
Worryingly, the fourth train also ran over the passenger. This was even though by this point a customer service assistant was aware they were on the tracks.
The passenger was fatally injured. The report said they fell at a time when there were no other passengers or staff present on the platform and there was no intervention made to prevent the first train from arriving.
How did staff fail to see the passenger?
RAIB investigators found that the operator of the first train did not see the passenger on the track ahead of the train as it arrived at the platform. “This was possibly because their level ofattention was reduced due to the use of automatic train operation,” the report said.
“The operator may also have been distracted by the presence of another operator who was standing on the platform as the first train arrived at the station.”
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The report added: “The consequences of the accident were made more severe because the operator of the second inbound train to arrive at the platform also did not see the passenger, while the operator of the third inbound train saw something when they were arriving at the platform, but did not recognise what they saw as being a person. The fourth inbound train was not stopped by a customer service assistant who was present onthe platform when it was entering the station, even though the assistant was by now aware that a person was on the track.
“Although the operator of the fourth inbound train had independently recognised that there was a person on the track, they did not stop their train. The train operators working the trains in the outbound direction were not aware of the passenger because the passenger was underneath their respective trains before they departed.”
Underlying causes behind the failure to see the passenger
The RAIB investigation concluded that the repetitive nature of the task under automatic train operation may lead to a state of underload. This results in the attention capacity of train operators being diminished, the report said.
Automatic train operation is, according to the International Electrotechnical Commission, a “method of operation in which the movement of the train is automatically controlled without the intervention of a driver, who, if provided, exercises only a supervisory function.”
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Speaking about the risk of reduced attention, the report added: “This can increase the likelihood of effects on performance such as reduced alertness or distraction. RAIB also found that at terminus stations some train operators are getting ready to leave their train before it has stopped, meaning they may not be focusing on tasks relating to the operation ofthe train.
“Although London Underground Limited had quantified the risk of a passenger falling from the platform and being struck by a train at Stratford station, the risk controls adopted were not sufficiently effective in this instance to prevent the accident from occurring.”
What recommendations have the RAIB made?
RAIB has made two recommendations. These are both addressed to London Underground Limited.
The report states: “The first relates to considering the use of technology that can detect if a passenger is in a dangerous position and intervene or warn as necessary to stop an approaching or departing train. The second concerns reviewing the environmental, organisational and job factors related to operating trains in automatic train operation mode to understand how underload may affect train operators.
“Additionally, a learning point has been identified reminding staff of the importance of using safety-critical communications when reporting and responding to incidents.”