Safety on the London Underground

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Accidents on the Underground network, which carries around a billion passengers a year, are rare. There is just one fatal accident for every 300 million journeys.^[1] 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.

1 Suicide
2 Terrorism
3 Air pollution
4 Tobacco and Alcohol
5 Criticism
6 References

[edit] 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.^[2] 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, but the main financial justification for their provision was to control station ventilation by restricting the 'piston-effect' of the moving air caused by the trains.

[edit] Terrorism

Main article: Attacks on the London Underground

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.

[edit] Air pollution

Air pollution in the London underground has been the subject of concern. According to the Discovery Channel documentary, Underground Cities: London, inhaling fumes while travelling on London's Tube for 40 minutes is "the equivalent to smoking two cigarettes", however, the accuracy this information is disputed (see the main article for more information). This statement compares the weight of particulate matter that is breathed and not the health effects. Cigarette smoke consists of products of combustion containing oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur; various alkaloids, aromatic hydrocarbons and tar. Dust in the Underground tunnels is mainly iron (from the wheel–rail interface), skin cells, hair cells and clothing fibres (from passengers), and quartz silica (from brakes). Weight for weight, tunnel dust has far less impact on human health than cigarette smoke.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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.^[3] Photography for personal use is permitted in public areas of the Underground,^[4] 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.

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 eve of the occasion was marked by revellers taking the opportunity to have one last drink on the Underground. Police stated that although the celebration, widely advertised on social networking internet sites, could have been a "fun event", it eventually came to an "unfortunate end", as the mayhem caused forced six tube stations to close and 17 people to be arrested.^[6]

[edit] 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.^[7]