Safety on the London Underground

Safety on the London Underground

This article is primarily concerned with accidents on the London Underground network, which carries around a billion passengers a year. Statistically, there is just one fatal accident for every 300 million journeys.[1][2] There are several safety warnings given to passengers, such as the traditional 'mind the gap' announcement and the regular announcements for passengers to keep behind the yellow line. Relatively few accidents are caused by overcrowding on the platforms, and staff monitor platforms and passageways at busy times prevent people entering the system if they become overcrowded.

Contents

Suicide

Most fatalities on the network are suicides. Most platforms at deep tube stations have pits beneath the track, originally constructed to aid drainage of water from the platforms, but they also help prevent death or serious injury when a passenger falls or jumps in front of a train and aid access to the unfortunate person.[3] These pits are officially called "anti-suicide pits", colloquially "suicide pits" or "dead man's trenches". Delays resulting from a person jumping or falling in front of a train as it pulls into a station are announced as an "unfortunate delay", "passenger action", "customer incident" or "a person under a train", and are referred to by staff as a "one under". London Underground has a specialist "Therapy Unit" to deal with drivers' post-traumatic stress, resulting from someone jumping under their train. The Jubilee line extension is the first line to have platform edge doors. These prevent people from falling or jumping onto the tracks, although the intention behind their provision was to control station ventilation by restricting the 'piston-effect' of the moving air caused by the trains.

Terrorism

Terrorism in the London Underground has been a major concern because the Underground's importance makes it a prime target for attacks. Many warnings and several attacks, some successful, have been made on the Underground, the most recent on the 21 July 2005, although in that case only the detonators exploded. The most recent attack causing damage was on 7 July 2005, when three suicide bombers blew themselves up on three trains. The earliest attack on the London Underground was in 1885, when a bomb exploded on a Metropolitan line train at Euston Square station. The Provisional IRA (and its predecessors) carried out over ten separate attacks between 1939 and 1993. As a response to growing 'Mumbai-Style' terrorist attack threats, the British Transport Police will have its own detachment of armed officers who will regularly patrol both the Undergrounds stations and its trains[citation needed].

Tobacco and alcohol

Various regulations aim to improve safety on the Tube. Smoking was allowed in certain carriages in trains until 9 July 1984. In the middle of 1987 smoking was banned for a six-month trial period in all parts of the Underground, and the ban was made permanent after the major King's Cross fire in November 1987.[4]

From 1 June 2008 an alcohol ban was introduced on all TfL services. This change in policy was made by Boris Johnson soon after he was elected Mayor of London in May 2008. He claims that a public transport drinking ban will reduce crime.[5]

The "Circle Line Party"

The Mayor's alcohol ban was marked by an unofficial party held on London Underground trains the night before its initiation. Police stated that although the celebration, widely advertised on social networking sites, could have been a "fun event", it instead came to an "unfortunate end" as six tube stations were subsequently closed and 17 people were arrested.[6]

Photography

Photography for personal use is permitted in public areas of the Underground,[7] but the use of tripods and other supports is forbidden as it poses a danger in the often cramped spaces and crowds found underground. Flash photography is also forbidden as it may distract drivers and disrupt fire-detection equipment. For the same reason bright auto-focus assist lights should be switched off or covered when photographing in the Underground.

Criticism

The Underground's staff safety regimen has drawn criticism. In January 2002 it was fined £225,000 for breaching safety standards for workers. In court, the judge reprimanded the company for "sacrificing safety" to keep trains running "at all costs." Workers had been instructed to work in the dark with the power rails live, even during rainstorms. Several workers had received electric shocks as a result.[8]

References

Part or all of this article has been copied from the article on London Underground.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • History of the London Underground — The history of the London Underground is one of gradual evolution. One section of it was the first urban underground passenger carrying railway in the world, for although the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in New York, opened in 1844, is sometimes called …   Wikipedia

  • London Underground accidents — The London Underground network carries more than a billion passengers a year. On a system of this scale it is impossible to completely prevent accidents although a lot of measures are taken. When such things occur the chance of fatalities is very …   Wikipedia

  • London Underground infrastructure — The infrastructure of the London Underground includes 11 lines, which serve 268 stations by rail. Lines on the Underground can be classified into two types: subsurface and deep level. Lines of both types usually emerge onto the surface outside… …   Wikipedia

  • London Underground — London’s underground train services, which are run by Transport for London. The first underground railways in London were begun in the 19th century, and were the first of their kind in the world. The 11 lines of the system (usually known as the… …   Universalium

  • London Underground — Infobox Public transit name = London Underground The Tube |thumb|Official logo. imagesize= 150px locale = Greater London, Chiltern, Epping Forest, Three Rivers and Watford transit type = Rapid transit began operation = 1863 system length = 400 km …   Wikipedia

  • London Underground 1996 Stock — Infobox Underground stock name=1996 Stock InService=1997 present Manufacturer=GEC Alstom LinesServed=Jubilee CarLength=17.77m CarWidth=2.629m CarHeight=2.875m MaxSpeed=100 km/h (62 mph) Weight=DM 30.0 tonnes UNDM 27.1 tonnes T 20.9 tonnes… …   Wikipedia

  • London Overground — Not to be confused with London Underground. London Overground …   Wikipedia

  • London Fire Brigade — LFB redirects here. For other uses, see LFB (disambiguation). London Fire Brigade London Fire Brigade area Coverage Area G …   Wikipedia

  • London mayoral election, 2004 — Infobox Election election name = London mayoral election, 2004 country = Greater London type = presidential ongoing = no previous election = London mayoral election, 2000 previous year = 2000 next election = London mayoral election, 2008 next… …   Wikipedia

  • The O2 (London) — This article is about the entertainment district incorporating the former Millennium Dome. For the indoor arena within it, see The O2 Arena (London). For its counterpart in Ireland, see The O2 (Dublin). For other uses, see O2. Coordinates:… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”