London Underground station where 26 people have fallen in gap between train and platform

Transport for London has revealed that 26 commuters have fallen in the gap between the train and the platform at a London Underground station. The figures include a fatal incident in which a commuter was crushed to death by a train after falling into the gap.

The data regards the Bakerloo line platforms at Waterloo Underground station, with the incidents having occurred between May 2020 and the end of last November. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) published a report in September 2021 on a passenger who fell into the gap at the northbound Bakerloo line platform at Waterloo Underground station after getting off the train on May 26 2020.

The man, 59-year-old Jama Mohamed Warsame, was reportedly unable to free himself and was crushed by the train as it departed just over a minute later, before being hit by a second train entering the station 85 seconds afterwards. No staff or other members of the public were at the platform at the time and the RAIB recommended that TfL identified dangers in the area by carrying out periodic risk assessments and learned from the accident to prevent further incidents occurring.

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The transport authority previously told MyLondon that it extended its deepest sympathies to Mr Warsame's family. The spokesperson added that TfL had worked to put in place the recommended actions alongside carrying out its own internal investigation.

The recent data, which was shared in a response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, included an ongoing claim for an injury that someone had sustained at Waterloo station, with a decision yet to be made on whether compensation would be offered. TfL said that it had made an effort to update platform layouts and train designs to reduce risks to commuters.

The FoI case officer said: "London Underground has put location specific mitigation measures in place at a number of stations to address safety risks that have been identified as part of customer risk assessments. These include specific controls for those stations which have the greatest number of safety incidents at the interface between the train and the platform, and changes to reduce the risk of a safety incident for our customers."

They added: "This is the case for the Bakerloo line platforms at Waterloo where we have upgraded the cameras to give the train operator a clearer view of the platform. We have also identified infrastructure changes that have been funded to move platform nosing stones to reduce the size of the gap between the train and the platform on the Bakerloo line platforms at Waterloo."

TfL said that when an injury in a station is reported, first aid is offered and an ambulance is called if necessary. They said the cause of injury is investigated, with managers then determining whether remedial action is needed in an incident report.

Regarding another fatality at Stratford station, Lilli Matson, TfL’s Chief Safety Officer, told MyLondon that serious injuries on the TfL network were rare, but the authority was undertaking a range of work to eradicate incidents and make it safer overall.

Ms Matson said: "We will always strive to learn from incidents and improve operational safety, including by ensuring relevant regulatory bodies are immediately informed, carrying out thorough and extensive internal investigations and prioritising taking action on any recommendations from any review."

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