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Metronet warned in May over derailment danger
By Dick Murray, Evening Standard Last updated at 10:51am on 06.07.07
Walk to safety: passengers make their way through a tunnel after their Central line train hit a roll of plastic sheeting between Mile End and Bethnal Green
Metronet was warned five weeks ago about the problem which caused yesterday's Central line derailment but failed to take any action, it was revealed today.
The derailment happened after the train hit an object in the tunnel between Mile End and Bethnal Green.
Metronet today admitted it was their roll of heavy industrial plastic sheeting that the train hit. The roll, which had been left too close to the track, became caught in the wheels, sending two carriages off the line.
Concerns about materials left too close to the track were first raised by Tube chiefs in May.
Hundreds of thousands of commuters faced major disruption today with the Central line remaining shut between Leytonstone and Liverpool Street stations. There was severe disruption along the remainder of the line, which is used by more than 650,000 people a day.
Mile End station, a busy interchange with the District and Hammersmith & City lines, was closed. Engineers worked through the night to get the carriages back on the rails and to repair damaged track and signal cables.
Yesterday's incident relates to a warning given to Metronet in May about a "series of incidents involving the inappropriate storage of materials and equipment"on the Circle, District, Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines.
In a reply at the end of last month, Metronet promised it would " physically inspect all storage areas", saying any items too close to the tracks or not stored properly would be "removed or secured for future removal".
But this was not done in the Mile End to Bethnal Green tunnel, where a six-foot long roll of plastic sheeting was left next to the track.
At 9.02 am yesterday a westbound service, carrying 400 commuters and travelling at maximum speed of 35mph, snagged the end of the roll and it was dragged under the right-hand wheels, which came off the track.
There was fury today at Metronet's latest blunder. Brian Cooke, chairman of London TravelWatch, said: "If passenger safety is now being put at risk then it is time for Metronet to be stripped of its contracts."
Steve Grant of Aslef and a former Central line driver said: "It beggars belief that Metronet failed to remove items when told to do so. Commuters will have every right to be horrified over this. It is an appalling disregard of safety standards."
Bob Crow, leader of the RMT union, said his union had raised concerns about this in a letter to London Undergroundin April demanding an investigation, yet nothing has been done.
A spokesman for Transport for London said: "We can confirm that we have been in correspondence with Metronet regarding the issue of maintenance equipment impacting on the network.
"We will obviously be seeking an urgent explanation into why these procedures do not appear to have prevented the Mile End derailment."
Reader views (15)
I think this is absolutely disgusting. Metronet are not content with just disrupting peoples' journeys day in day out they are now putiing peoples' lives at risk. We are lucky that it was not a major derailment and there were no tragedies. I think they should be stripped of their contract immediately
- Sarah, London, 06/07/2007 14:24
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Like Emma, I was in the front carriage of the train that derailed and similarly my thanks go to the driver who did a fastastic job of keeping everyone informed of what was happening.
But I have to question the person who thinks that this was an 'unfortunate mistake'. How many unfortunate mistakes have to happen before action is taken? Yes - nobody died yesterday, but given how close the front carriage was to the wall of the tube tunnel when we came to a halt, things could easily have been very different.
- Dawn, London, 06/07/2007 13:41
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Metronet need to be prosecuted for incompetance, LU need to have an internal enquiry to find out exactly what the shortcomings were and sack all staff responsible.
The problem here is that if Metronet is sacked then a new company will fill the gap. The new company will basically poach all of the same employees, who would be made redundant, who already work for Metronet. The same thing would happen again because it would be the same people making the same mistakes.
- Trevor Roll, London, 06/07/2007 13:33
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After being on the train, I have nothing but praise for the driver. He kept the passengers informed of what was happening on a regular basis, helping to calm people.
The fire crew, police, paramedics and station staff were truly amazing. They were constantly reassuring us and checking we were OK as we were led out of the tunnels. Words cannot express my gratitude to everybody involved in this rescue operation.
Thank you!
- Jo, Essex, UK, 06/07/2007 13:23
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The thing is, if Metronet doesn't win any more contracts, and someone else does, all the workers from Metronet would have to transfer to the new company to do things, which follows TUPE regulations.
So even if the contract changes, we're left with the same incompetent workers as before, so thank you Europe for TUPE laws. In the US they don't exist and if your company loses its contract for being rubbish, guess what, everyone takes a hit.
- Christine, Hornchurch, Essex, 06/07/2007 13:20
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"Ken, it's time to do the right thing and get rid of Metronet. "
Ken wants get rid of Metronet and has been for ages - the problem is that the company has fiendishly complicated and pretty much iron-clad contracts. Even after this incident, I doubt anyone has the power to just wave a magic wand and banish them.
The fact that this was precisely the situation that Ken warned us about when running for Mayor in the first place doesn't make it any better.
- Michael, London, 06/07/2007 12:21
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This was an unfortunate mistake, the roll of plastic should not have been left where it caused damage but I think that Metronet will have learned their lesson now and there will be no more mistakes like this happening again.
- Jess, Farringdon, 06/07/2007 12:16
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There is clearly a problem with the way Metronet are running things. This accident shouldn't of happened. People could have been seriously hurt because of their negligence and one mistake is enough, they should not be running our trains anymore.
- Sarah, London Bridge, 06/07/2007 12:15
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I am appalled that this is still happening in 2007. How long has the Tube been around? About 100 years! Why hasn't there been someone yet who can do this effectively? Sacking people isn't going to help - we need committed members of boards who CARE!
- J Blade, London, 06/07/2007 12:13
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Sack them! They have shown gross incompetence. It's about time we got some decent public transport in London.
- Simon, Wandsworth, 06/07/2007 11:49
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Ken, it's time to do the right thing and get rid of Metronet. It's beyond me how this 'maintenance' firm has been allowed to continue to maintain the infrastructure of the Tube. Sack the firm and get Londoners moving safely again.
- Keely, Wimbledon, 06/07/2007 11:48
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My god how can these contractors still be employed by London Underground? It's outrageous - commuters should stage a very strong stand over this and refuse to use the underground until it is made safe - yes, I know some will have to use it but I bet if the majority of commuters refused to do so London Underground would soon get their act together.
- Sarah, London, 06/07/2007 11:41
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This must have been terrifying for the people involved - especially in the current climate of terror alerts. It beggars belief that Metronet knew about the problem but did nothing about it. They need to be held accountable in some way. It's worrying to think that we are in their hands each time we get on a tube.
- Leonie, Shepherds Bush, 06/07/2007 11:40
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Metronet's record is full of a catalogue of unforgivable, incompetent and worrying woes, errors and blunders. What is London Underground waiting for? Get rid of this poor excuse of a company now.
- Robbie, Neasden, 06/07/2007 11:39
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Many Thanks to the emergency crews and train driver of the Central line derailed train yesterday. The response was quick and reassuring in what proved to be a frightening experience, which thankfully wasnt as bad as it could've been. I was in the first carriage and must commend the spirit and resolve of the Londoners around me who handled the incident with calmness and at times, humour, which we all needed to bring some sense of normality to a scary situation. Well done London!
- Emma, Leytonstone London, 06/07/2007 11:09
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