Could you please provide a tabular summary of the number of "Person on the track" incidents, previously known as "Person Under a Train" incidents, during the last 12 months which have occurred on London Underground? Please show results per Line and per Station, separated into fatal and non-fatal incidents, thank you. If possible, could you also provide the dates these incidents occurred?

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Our ref: FOI-1799-1718/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 6 October 2017 asking for information about 'Persons on the track' incidents.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require.

The Tube supports nearly 5 million customer journeys per day. In 2016/17 a total of 1.38 billion passenger journeys were made and our transport network carried more passengers than ever before. Our first priority is the safety of all our customers, staff and others travelling or working on our network.

We provide training to our staff on how to identify and give the appropriate support to any customers who appear to be in mental/emotional distress or who are acting in a way which would identify them as high risk of suicide. We have worked closely with the Samaritans on developing training material to give staff even more knowledge about the signs to look out for and the confidence to intervene. We also work with Network Rail and other train operating companies to share information and approaches to managing incidents of suicide on the railway.

London Underground (LU) works closely with the British Transport Police (BTP) and the emergency services to ensure a coordinated response to incidents. LU has introduced a ‘blue light’ response for the Emergency Response Unit with a police driver supplied by the British Transport Police (BTP). We also have the Network Incident Response Team which includes a BTP Police Medical Officer with a LU Network Incident Response Manager. Additionally, there has been a notable improvement in medical intervention in these cases which enables paramedic first aid to be given on site and enhance the survival rate.

For our staff, we have an established Trauma Support Group (TSG), which is a network of 140 volunteers who are front line operational staff trained and supervised to provide support to staff members affected by an incident – local managers trigger this support quickly after an incident.

Comprehensive help and support is also available for the friends and family of anyone injured during, or affected by, a serious incident involving TfL services, via The Sarah Hope Line (0343 222 5678).

You asked for data related to 'Persons on the track' on London Underground, shown by Line and by Station, separated into fatal and non-fatal incidents, for the last 12 months.

We record such incidents as ‘Persons under a train’, rather than ‘Person on the track’ (which would potentially include trespassers etc). Please find attached a table showing the number of incidents of people hit by trains in the last financial year (2016/17).

We have provided the details of the line which these incidents occurred on, however, The Samaritans have published guidance which advises against reporting of rail suicides at a particular station, as these details may result in the station becoming known as a suicide location: http://www.samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/Samaritans%20media%20factsheet%20-%20rail%20suicides.pdf. The Samaritans hold details of research that may be useful to you http://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/media-guidelines-reporting-suicide/new-advice-journalists-suicide-reporting-academic

We do not record these incidents in a way which enables us to report on a ‘fatal/non fatal’ incident, as we are often not made aware of the outcome of the incident after the person has been taken into the care of paramedics.

You may wish to contact the British Transport Police for information about the classification of deaths on the railway network: http://www.btp.police.uk/.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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