A passenger was forced to run alongside an Elizabeth line train after it left a station with their hand trapped in the door.
It had just gone midnight – 12.07 am – on November 24 when a passenger attempted to board a train at Ealing Broadway station.
But the doors shut on their hand and the train started moving, leaving them with minor injuries.
‘The passenger… was forced to run alongside it for several metres before being pulled away by a member of railway staff who was working on the platform’, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said.
‘The driver was alerted to what was happening by nearby passengers, and the train stopped after moving approximately 17 metres (56ft).’
An RAIB investigation has now been launched into what happened, the roles of those involved and the management of risks associated with passengers boarding and disembarking Elizabeth line trains.
The government agency previously investigated two instances of passengers being dragged along London Underground platforms after their coats got stuck in train doors.
One of those passengers – a 101-year-old woman – was seriously injured after being dragged by a northbound Northern line train after getting off at Archway in February.
The other involved a woman who had got in closing doors while attempting to board another Northern line train at Chalk Farm.
She was dragged 20 metres along the platform before the zip ripped off the jacket. The driver was unaware until the next station.
Concerns have previously been raised about Ealing Broadway station, in particular the high gap between the platform and Elizabeth trains.
Several passengers were seriously injured while using trains at the station, prompting an apology from the Mayor of London this July, along with a pledge to fix the gap.
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‘I’m really sorry’, Sadiq Khan said. ‘You should not be injured going about your daily business.’
In its report on the Archway and Chalk Farm incidents, the RAIB recommended introducing technology to detect when small objects become trapped or when something is being dragged by a train.
It also suggested modifying door seals to make it easier for small objects to be pulled from from closed doors.
A TfL spokesperson said the operator of the service, the MTR-Elizabeth line, is currently carrying out a thorough investigation into the incident which happened just after midnight.
‘We will always strive to learn from incidents and improve operational safety’, a TfL spokesperson said of the latest Ealing Broadway incident, which is being investigated by the operator.
‘The MTR-Elizabeth line is fully cooperating with the RAIB to establish the root cause of this incident to determine what steps they can take to avoid any further events of this nature and to share learnings with the industry.
‘While serious injuries on our network are rare, we are undertaking a huge range of work aimed at eradicating such incidents and making travelling even safer for everyone.’
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