A London Underground Jubilee line train travelled between Finchley Road and West Hampstead stations with 10 doors open on 1 September last year.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said that the train driver’s lack of sleep and food, as well as poor training, may have contributed to the incident.
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Around 30 passengers were on board when the train reached a maximum speed of 62kmph during the 56-second journey between the two stations. No passengers were injured.
According to the RAIB report released on 10 July, some doors ‘opened without being commanded to do so by the train operator’ when the train stopped at Finchley Road.
When the driver was unable to open or close any doors, he operated a switch to bypass the door locking circuit to prevent the train departing with doors open. However, the train left for West Hampstead before the doors closed.
The driver failed to see that some doors still were open. He became aware of the issue when a passenger activated an alarm inside the train after it reached West Hampstead station.
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By GlobalDataIn the report, the RAIB stated that the train operator’s actions were probably influenced by a sudden increase in workload due to the low level of work associated with automatic train operation, fatigue from his sleeping pattern and/or low blood-sugar levels from a prolonged period without food.
The RAIB also suggested that training did not adequately prepare drivers to manage the sudden increase in workloads.
It said that the initial problems with the doors might have been caused by a ‘control system overload’.
The RAIB has made four recommendations to London Underground, including improvements to door control systems on Jubilee line trains, better training for drivers, raising awareness of the adverse effects on safety from insufficient sleep or inappropriate eating patterns, and improved management of train faults.
Transport for London (TfL) director of health, safety and environment Jill Collis said that TfL had started work on several of the RAIB recommendations following an internal report.
She said: “We will continue to review our procedures to ensure we consider all of the recommendations made in the RAIB report and continue to work to ensure that the Tube network is as safe as possible.”
