Man Falls Under HST At Oxford

[NoOnesFool]

Hello all. I recently overheard some rail enthusiasts on a train to Gunnislake discussing an incident where a man fell under an HST train at Oxford Railway Station. It sounded like he was killed but I couldn't hear that part as we went over jointed track. From what I can gather, it was just after HSTs had Central Door Locking fitted and the poor man thought he would be able to open the door as it was moving. I have searched this forum thinking there might be a thread about the incident but cannot find one.

I have searched for the RAIB report as I am interested in the circumstances but as you can see, I cannot find any results. Does anyone remember roughly when the incident occured or better still have a link to the RAIB report please?

 

[Dr Hoo]

Central door locking pre-dated the RAIB coming into existence.

 

[Clarence Yard]

I think the one they are referring to is the one that happened in 1995 when a man tried to board a moving HST at Oxford, with fatal consequences.

There wasn’t any HMRI published report. In those days this type of fatality didn’t usually warrant one.

 

[NoOnesFool]

I think the one they are referring to is the one that happened in 1995 when a man tried to board a moving HST at Oxford, with fatal consequences.

There wasn’t any HMRI published report. In those days this type of fatality didn’t usually warrant one.

Yes 1995 would be about right. Was it a Great Western or Cross Country one do you know?

 

[Clarence Yard]

On reflection, I think the 1995 incident involved CC LHCS as the punter was on his way north, to Scotland iirc. I can’t recall any other fatal passenger incident at Oxford.

Thames Trains did the internal report which recommended that after locking the doors but before giving the driver the signal to go and also as the train departed, the conductor should always be in such a position so that he could see what was going on and stop the train if required to do so.

Iirc, the set had CDL - there was a real problem at that time as late punters thought they could just open, board and shut as the train moved off, just like in the old pre-CDL days.

 

[4069]

CDL followed the HSE report into falls from train doors, published in 1993: Passenger Falls From Train Doors. Accidents involving stock fitted with CDL have also occurred where people have been unable to open the door and have tried to join or leave the train through the droplight.

 

[NoOnesFool]

CDL followed the HSE report into falls from train doors, published in 1993: Passenger Falls From Train Doors. Accidents involving stock fitted with CDL have also occurred where people have been unable to open the door and have tried to join or leave the train through the droplight.

I think the latter is what happened to the man at Oxford. I think he tried the handle and couldn't open it and got drsgged under. I am not sure how long it took for the Guard/TM/Senior conductor to notice, and if the rule book.required for an emergency stop when a passenger tried to board a moving train back then.

That is an interesting HSE report. I have heard about that issue before, it was nicknamed the Tamworth triangle because many events happened in the Tamworth area.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

CDL followed the HSE report into falls from train doors, published in 1993: Passenger Falls From Train Doors. Accidents involving stock fitted with CDL have also occurred where people have been unable to open the door and have tried to join or leave the train through the droplight.

That sounds like a very risky move, I'm not sure why anyone would attempt such a thing.

Considering just how many slam door trains were on the network 30 years ago, many of them with no central locking and doors to every bay of seats, it's actually surprising how rare it was for anyone to come a cropper.

I must admit in my younger dafter days, it was a point of foolish pride to open the door before the train had come to a complete stop, and step onto the platform walking at the same pace the train was moving. With VEPs arriving at Waterloo almost every door would be open before the train had completely stopped.

 

[2192]

....With VEPs arriving at Waterloo almost every door would be open before the train had completely stopped.

...and in the morning rush hour three quarters of the passengers would be on the platform and heading for the barrier.

 

[The exile]

...and in the morning rush hour three quarters of the passengers would be on the platform and heading for the barrier.

If approach speeds at termini had been anything like they are today, some of those passengers would already have been through the barriers before the train came to a complete stop!

 

[Gloster]

The Southern Region used to put up posters, usually using a drawing instead of a photo, of somebody on a platform (usually a pretty girl (it was the 1970s)) in a contorted position halfway through falling and with all their belongings spilling out. In the background, in the open door of a still moving train, a passenger could be seen with a look of horror on their face. The poster would be full of warnings about how dangerous it was to open the doors before the train had come to a stop. Did it have any effect? I should co-co.

When I started I was warned to always make sure to keep away from the platform edge when a train was arriving. The warning was hardly necessary: I had been brought up in 4-EPB land.

 

[Bread & cheese]

The poster would be full of warnings about how dangerous it was to open the doors before the train had come to a stop. Did it have any effect?

It had an effect on me, at least. It made me more safety-conscious.
One such poster had the slogan "A moment's haste, a lifetime's remorse".

 

[contrex]

The Southern Region used to put up posters, usually using a drawing instead of a photo, of somebody on a platform (usually a pretty girl (it was the 1970s))

Seen by me as early as 1963 on the Southern.

 

[Dave W]

I've seen a much repeated (possibly apocryphal) tale on other forums of a passenger being a little hasty alighting at Fenchurch Street and his momentum taking him in to a chocolate bar vending machine (which dates it, no doubt), only to be rather sarcastically admonished by a nearby policeman.

 

[contrex]

When I was aged 13, there was a fad among my school friends (it was a boys' school) for alighting from moving London RT, RTL, and RM buses by jumping off the rear platform. The faster the bus was going, the harder you were. Or the stupider, if you thought like me. Of course the conductor had to be elsewhere. The idea was, of course, to hit the pavement running. One day the reigning champion decided that practice makes perfect and jumped off a 185 at Denmark Hill heading north at not much less than 20 mph. His exit from the platform and landing were impeccable; he started his deceleration run along the pavement nicely, and in about three paces ran smack into a lamp-post and broke his nose. We all piled off at the next stop and walked him, streaming blood, to King's College hospital, which was about 100 yards away. All of his so-called pals were helpless with laughter. The sport seemed to lose its attraction after that.

 

[NoOnesFool]

I've seen a much repeated (possibly apocryphal) tale on other forums of a passenger being a little hasty alighting at Fenchurch Street and his momentum taking him in to a chocolate bar vending machine (which dates it, no doubt), only to be rather sarcastically admonished by a nearby policeman.

Did he jump off?

 

[Ashley Hill]

The Southern Region used to put up posters, usually using a drawing instead of a photo, of somebody on a platform (usually a pretty girl (it was the 1970s)) in a contorted position halfway through falling and with all their belongings spilling out. In the background, in the open door of a still moving train, a passenger could be seen with a look of horror on their face.

Like this one?

 

[Gloster]

Like this one?
View attachment 118804

Yes, although the ones I remember had the girl still in mid-fall.

 

[Dr_Paul]

With VEPs arriving at Waterloo almost every door would be open before the train had completely stopped.

That's right, and all the more so with EPBs and 4-SUBs with their door for every bay. It was quite risky and took some skill. If you jumped off too soon, when the train was still moving at some pace, you could trip up. If you were the first person to alight, you had to step away from the train pretty quickly as you could otherwise get walloped from behind by doors being opened further back on the train. If you were the second or third person to alight, you could get the heavy door bash into you when the train stopped and it bounced back off the rubber bumper on the carriage side or swung forward, depending on which side of the train you alighted.

When I started I was warned to always make sure to keep away from the platform edge when a train was arriving. The warning was hardly necessary: I had been brought up in 4-EPB land.

Passengers also learnt to keep a good few feet back from the platform edge when a train was arriving at stations where many people alighted. When I started commuting to London, I learnt that pretty quickly at my local station, which had quite a few people alighting there in the morning.

When I was aged 13, there was a fad among my school friends (it was a boys' school) for alighting from moving London RT, RTL, and RM buses by jumping off the rear platform. The faster the bus was going, the harder you were. Or the stupider, if you thought like me. Of course the conductor had to be elsewhere. The idea was, of course, to hit the pavement running.

I think we all did this at one point or another, even if we didn't make a game of it. I miss the convenience of open-platform buses, especially when stuck on a bus caught up in a traffic jam. Jumping onto a moving bus took some skill: too soon and you bounced off the side of the bus; too late and you could end up in the roadway. And you had to avoid hitting the pole on the platform. I'll never forget when a pal of mine, eager to get home after school, leapt head-first at a bus that was accelerating away from a stop, and managed -- I suspect more by luck than judgement -- to land face-down flat on the platform.

 

[greyman42]

CDL followed the HSE report into falls from train doors, published in 1993: Passenger Falls From Train Doors. Accidents involving stock fitted with CDL have also occurred where people have been unable to open the door and have tried to join or leave the train through the droplight.

I witnessed a young couple leave a HST at York via the droplight. They did it with remarkable ease and agility. Perhaps they had some gymnastic training.

 

[nottsnurse]

When I was aged 13, there was a fad among my school friends (it was a boys' school) for alighting from moving London RT, RTL, and RM buses by jumping off the rear platform. The faster the bus was going, the harder you were. Or the stupider, if you thought like me. Of course the conductor had to be elsewhere. The idea was, of course, to hit the pavement running. One day the reigning champion decided that practice makes perfect and jumped off a 185 at Denmark Hill heading north at not much less than 20 mph. His exit from the platform and landing were impeccable; he started his deceleration run along the pavement nicely, and in about three paces ran smack into a lamp-post and broke his nose. We all piled off at the next stop and walked him, streaming blood, to King's College hospital, which was about 100 yards away. All of his so-called pals were helpless with laughter. The sport seemed to lose its attraction after that.

Hopping off the #3 as it struggled up Dulwich Wood Park Rd, on the approach to Crystal Palace Parade, was comparatively simple.