A report has been released into incidents involving passengers being dragged by London Underground trains in 2023.
The first incident took place on the 18th February 2023 around 15:50 and involved a passenger being trapped in the Northern Line train door at Archway station.
The passenger was exiting the train using a single leaf door at the rear of the fifth carriage when the door began to close and trapping their coat.
The passenger was dragged for around 2 metres along the platform before falling to the ground, the coat becoming free.
The passenger also had a companion who was holding on to them. The companion also fell to ground.
The train travelled for around 20 metres until the train operator noticed the passenger being dragged and applied the brakes.
The companion was uninjured, but the passenger who was dragged sustained serious injuries.
The RAIB has found that the accident happened because the passengers coat had become trapped in the door, and the train system did not detect the presence of a coat in the door.
The train operator was aware of the passenger and their companion, but did not know they were trapped until after they had initiated the departure, and wasn’t aware that the pilot light, which tells the operator that the doors are closed, could still illuminate even if something is trapped.
The second incident took place on the 20th April 2023 at around 23:03, with another coat becoming trapped in a Northern line service, this time at Chalk Farm station.
The passenger was attempting to board the train but stopped because the doors began to close. The doors closed whilst the passenger was close to the train, trapping their coat in the door.
This time, the passenger was dragged for around 20 metres before falling to the ground. In this incident, the passenger suffered minor injuries to their elbow and knees but also suffered from psychological distress.
The train operator involved in this accident was not aware of the passenger or that their coat was trapped before starting the train departure procedure. Additionally, the operator was also unaware that the passenger was being dragged by the train.
The RAIB have listed a number of learning points following the incidents.
The first learning point concerns the importance of documenting action plans in accordance with company procedures and recording when safety briefings have been undertaken.
The second learning point concerns the importance of promptly reporting notifiable accidents to RAIB.
The third concerns the importance of trainers and managers ensuring the risks of relying on the pilot light when deciding whether it is safe to start the train from platforms are completely understood by train operators.
