Request ID: FOI-1898-2223 Date published: 29 November 2022
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would like to request the following information:
- The number of falls suffered by passengers in the gaps between the train and the platform on the London Underground for each full calendar year, for the past five years. Please also include partial data from 2022 where available. Could you break this data down by severity of injury?
Please also include a list of stations on the network where these falls have taken place across each year requested.
I would like to receive this information in electronic format, preferably in a CSV file.
If you feel that you require clarification on any of the points raised, I would be grateful if you could contact me at this email and provide assistance as to how I could refine the request.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-1898-2223/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3 November 2022 asking for information relating to passenger falls on London Underground.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
The London Underground supports nearly four million passenger journeys per day, and about 900 million journeys a year. The safety of our staff and customers is our top priority and the Tube is recognised as one of the safest metros around the world, with only around one incident occurring in every ten million passenger journeys. Despite this, we are never complacent, and continuously strive to reduce injuries and help our customers travel safely.
We have done a lot to understand the key locations, issues and contributory factors which lead to customer accidents, particularly as customers board and alight our trains. To reduce numbers of incidents we are focussed on both influencing customer behaviour and changing our infrastructure where possible to remove/reduce risk including the following measures:
We are improving cameras on our stations which will give the train operator an even clearer view of the platform on almost 100 Tube platforms to further improve safety for our customers.
We have moved nosing stones on a number of our platforms where the gap between the train and the platform is widest, which has reduced the gap and allows our customers to board and alight more safely.
We have platform edge doors on the Jubilee line extension and central section of the Elizabeth line, which reduces the risk of customer accidents
We provided detailed training to our station staff and train operators on clear safety rules, increasing passenger safety.
We have a structured safety communication plan for communicating potential risks to our customers, including announcements on the train, on the platform, in addition to visual communications such as posters within our stations.
The yellow lines on our platforms, and the ‘Mind the Gap’ signs, are also used to highlight the potential risk to our customers. There are also regular announcements on our stations to remind our customers to stand behind the yellow line.
We undertake talks in schools to educate children on the danger of the gap between the train and platform.
We continually monitor the effectiveness of our measures and campaigns in reducing accidents and adjust our approach accordingly.
Please find attached a spreadsheet showing falls suffered by passengers in the gaps between the train and the platform on the London Underground (known as Platform Train Incidents (PTI). The information provided shows incidents by calendar year and London Underground station, split out by severity of the injury.
Please note:
When a fall down the gap PTI incident is reported, if there is no injury to record, the details about the person involved are not captured. This means that for the “no injury” incidents recorded, this may include workforce incidents as well as customers.
Data for 2022 is any processed data in our database as of 14/11/22.
A PTI incident has been defined as any incident that occurs at the Platform/Train Interface or the Platform Edge Doors or is flagged as a Platform/Train Interface Incident on our reporting system.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
