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Tube signal puts trains on collision course in rush hour
Dick Murray, Transport Correspondent9 Sep 2010
A Tube train was sent into the path of another train in a major safety scare, the Standard can reveal.
London Underground bosses today launched an investigation amid fears it could happen again.
The west-bound Hammersmith & City line train was wrongly switched onto an east-bound track at the height of yesterday morning's rush-hour. It is the third train safety alert in three months, and comes after a Northern line train travelled through six stations without a driver.
Initial investigations into the latest drama have found problems in the signal equipment at Plaistow station.
A senior Tube source said: “A signal fault like this has all the potential for a major disaster.”
The six-carriage train had been heading east but was turned around in a siding at Plaistow at 8.18am.
The woman driver correctly changed ends of the train to come back into London, picking up passengers on the Plaistow platform. She received a green signal and started off — crossing track points at the end of the platform.
A short distance outside the station the driver slammed on the brakes realising to her horror that she was on an east-bound track and not the west-bound one into London.
All this was watched by the shocked driver of a second train on the same track, who was heading into Plaistow station. Thankfully he was held at a red signal less than a mile away. The alarm was raised, all signals were turned to red and services were brought to a standstill.
The train that had been sent down the wrong track was then backed into Plaistow to let the passengers off.
There were two other signals — both at red — between the two trains. The line was suspended for about six hours for an immediate investigation.
There is no suggestion that the train driver involved — who behaved “by the book” — nor the signalman in charge of that section of track were to blame in any way.
A fault has been found with the signalling equipment controlling the points. Investigators were able to recreate the fault while the line was shut down yesterday. The siding where the train changed direction had not been used since Monday and was out of action during Tuesday's 24-hour strike. It was the first train to use it after services started up again.
A Tube source said: “The obvious fear is, depending on the cause of the fault, this could happen again.”
Last month the runaway engineering train on the Northern line was only 40 seconds from smashing into the rear of a passenger train in the deep level tunnel at Kentish Town.
The same 90-tonne train was involved in a similar drama six weeks earlier on the Jubilee line, although a London Underground spokeswoman denied the train was out of control.
She said the train had broken down during night work and there were difficulties in removing it. The train was eventually towed out of the way.
A spokesman for Transport for London said: “At 8.18am yesterday a west-bound Hammersmith & City line train exiting the siding at Plaistow, which is used to turn trains around, was routed on to the eastbound tracks.
“The driver, following London Underground's stringent safety procedures, stopped the train immediately, and our signalling system prevented any eastbound trains from moving towards the stationary train.
“The nearest eastbound train was stationary at red signals almost a kilometre away at West Ham.
“Passenger and staff safety was maintained throughout. The train had three passengers on board, who were all removed from it shortly after 9am. Our engineers are carrying out a full investigation into the cause of this signalling irregularity, and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and the Office of Rail Regulation have been informed of the incident.”
The incident came after the strike over safety and 800 job cuts brought major disruption to the network and forced tens of thousands of commuters to seek other forms of transport. Although the action ended at 9pm on Tuesday it caused knock-on delays yesterday.
Reader views (23)
The tube is rapidly turning in to “Russian rulet”!
Its might just be only a matter of time
Before a catastrophic disaster takes places due to incompetence...!!!
- Mike, London, 10/09/2010 09:08
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The tube is rapidly turning in to a “Russian rulet”! Tt might just be only a matter of time
before a catastrophic disaster takes places due to incompetence...!!!
- Mike, London, 10/09/2010 09:04
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I read the print edition of the paper this evening and was so annoyed at the use of "woman driver" I had to come on here and leave a comment. Whatever kind of difference does the driver's gender make to the story?
And as Alex points out, you wouldn't have said "male driver", and as the driver's gender has no impact on the story it comes across as patronising and with a hint of 'what do you expect, she was a woman, they shouldn't be allowed to drive trains'.
I expect the next story like this to comment on the colour of the drivers hair, and preferably how much her house is worth too.
- Katherine, London, 09/09/2010 22:12
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Hmmmmm...very convenient. This has Crow's pawprints all over it, I reckon
- jan, London, 09/09/2010 21:33
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Alan, are you quite with it or is the sun getting to you?
What's a very important bit of belt and braces [safety] equipment failing, got to do with a Tube employee's salary. Oh and for some it's £50k and 52 days off with a 37.5 hour week if you want some other figures .
- Hairy Dave, Sussex, 09/09/2010 18:23
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Hairy Dave is completely right. The failsafe...failed. There are no secondary failsafes its just luck that at plastow there happens to be equipment there for something completely different but that happened to stop the train.
For things like this to happen you need everything to go wrong which is what happened with incidents like this one, the northern line runaway train or Hangar Lane, fortunately nobody has been hurt....yet. One day all the wrong things will happen and someone will be seriously hurt. Just look at Potters Bar on National Rail.
Rather than saying the unions are using safety as an excuse look at the facts and look at the plans to make things like extending the time limits for trains regular servicing.
- RMT Rep, London, 09/09/2010 18:21
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A complete set up by Mr Crowe and his little friends ! be careful Bob, you might not finesse it so well next time
- Kevin Bollox, London, 09/09/2010 18:10
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To put this simply. The green signal meant that the points were set and locked. It's railway safety basics. For the points to then move with still a green signal is not good at all. Think Clapham Junction people, that was a wiring error. There is no further failsafe. The train stopped because of another piece of equipment, not their to stop a train when a fault that should NEVER occur happens!
Yesterday was a very close call and some are worried that it will happen again.
- Hairy Dave, Sussex, 09/09/2010 17:30
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Why does'nt Windebank comment on the serious news, the takeover of another British Company, Dana oil. No hope of any comment from Labour leadership hopefuls, they saw the cream of British Industry sold off in their thirteen years, including all of our utilities. As to the tube, another political football. The only one happy is those tube employees earning £40000 plus a year with forty days holiday. Mind you I agree Boris is hopeless as Ken was. Yet so far Boris has only been there for one term, Ken as I recollect had four attempts at running London.
- alan, England., 09/09/2010 17:14
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why do we need terrorista to give us deadly problems. Just put a couple of lazy english types in charge and lots will get injuried.
- canopener, london, 09/09/2010 15:11
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Big Bob is in the house!
- Jim, London, 09/09/2010 15:09
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"Personally I'd take a hard look at a dozen or so stations and suggest closing them completely outside of the Monday-Friday peak hours. Stations that are a few minutes' walk from another, along a route served by frequent buses.
- Nigel, London, 09/09/2010 14:00"
What a great idea, some people especially older people dont like using machines, its also possible that machines dont accept peoples bank notes, disabled people and non regular tube users may need assistance with their journey or help getting to the platforms.
Thats without the crime risk non stationed staff could create, defacing stations etc. Its okay for you with your oyster card, like me... but not everyone has that luxury. The tube is a public service not a business, its not exactly a public service is there is never anyone there outside "peak hours".
- Simon James, London, 09/09/2010 14:32
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Simon, isn't it possible that if the Tube spends less on staff in ticket offices selling ten tickets or less per hour, it might be able to afford to spend more on track and signals?
Bob Crow's union, like Labour politicians, think that if they scare us, they can get us to support whatever nonsense they come up with.
Personally I'd take a hard look at a dozen or so stations and suggest closing them completely outside of the Monday-Friday peak hours. Stations that are a few minutes' walk from another, along a route served by frequent buses.
- Nigel, London, 09/09/2010 14:00
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SO how exactly would more staff have prevented this? Paying somebody to look over the shoulder of the person who's being paid to prevent this sort of thing happening? But who's going to check-up on that person?
- Mark, London, 09/09/2010 13:50
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Signalling equipment failure, train sent on wrong track, all failsafe measures kick-in to prevent accident like they're supposed to. No crash.
Nothing to see here, move along now....
- George, London, 09/09/2010 13:38
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"So maybe the unions have a valid point about safety fears after all"
- Simon James, London
Seems to me the staff are not doing their jobs properly. Someone should be sacked for it.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 09/09/2010 13:37
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"The woman driver"
If it had been a male driver, would you have written "The man driver"?
- Alex, Fulham, 09/09/2010 13:05
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Hmmm. All this happens a day after a strike supposedly about 'safety'.
I smell a rat. A big, dinosaur shaped rat.
- Moz, London, 09/09/2010 13:02
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All these points coming out now confirm the unions are in the right with their battles.
There are prob a few that havent made it so far as the papers
Like someone mentioned something in local papers etc
Problem is the RMT has cried wolf so many times over the past few years that now the public just dont want to listen
TSSA havent gone on strike since 1926 so should be taken note of that this is a big issue. Boris needs to listen to the unions and act fast.
We need all this sorted before 2012. Specially as he wants to go 24 hours for the games
- Lul service control, london, 09/09/2010 12:57
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Accidents will always happen, which is why there are back up procedures in place to stop a tragedy, which is what happened here, and so thankfully nobody was hurt.
This has nothing to do with the number of station staff being reduced, and has even less to do with that complete moron Bob Crowe being right about anything.
- Paul H, London, 09/09/2010 12:56
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I spotted incident at West Ham Station yesterday when leaving C2C train (realised later I should have taken photo!).
Looks like Uncle Bob is right with his claims about tube safety what with runaway trains, District line trains that end up on Piccadilly Line (happened a couple of days later reported on local news.) and now this incident.
And All Boris says is that Strike is Political! Well his the one making it political instead of agreeing to meet the unions to discuss things. Perhaps he is trying to prove he is heir to Thatcher given the way Cameron failed to win the election.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 09/09/2010 12:41
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Bit like the signals controlling the directions of flow of the elected politicians and the general public then.
- stuart, chesterfield,derbyshire, 09/09/2010 12:27
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So maybe the unions have a valid point about safety fears after all
- Simon James, London, 09/09/2010 12:26
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