Clapham Common: 'Panicking' passengers smashed windows to flee TfL Tube due to staff failings, says report

A passenger-led evacuation of a Tube train that could have had “serious consequences” was caused in part by London Underground’s failure to learn from a previous incident, according to a new report.

At just before 5.45pm on Sunday May 5 last year, a Tube leaving Clapham Common was halted by a passenger emergency alarm after smoke and a smell of burning entered the train. It stopped partly in the tunnel and partly at the platform and the doors remained closed.

Around 100 of an estimated 500 passengers self-evacuated onto the platform through doors between the train’s cars and smashed windows. Station staff began opening the train’s doors around four and a half minutes after the train stopped.

Minor injuries were sustained but a new report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) says the incident could have had more serious consequences due to the narrow island platform, increasing the risk of passengers falling onto the track and touching the conductor rails or being hit by a train coming the other way.

The RAIB’s investigation found that passengers perceived a significant risk from fire, and that they became increasingly alarmed when the train’s doors remained closed. It found they did not receive suitable information or see any effective action from London Underground staff. The report suggests the smoke came from a substance on the brake resistor grid.

It said an underlying factor was a lack of training or procedures for incidents where passenger behaviour can rapidly escalate, and that London Underground did not fully apply learning from a previous similar incident at Holland Park station.

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Andrew Hall, chief inspector of rail accidents, said: “Out-of-course events can rapidly escalate into emergencies if not responded to promptly and effectively.

“During this incident staff didn’t fully appreciate the emerging safety risk when passengers’ behaviour began to escalate as they became increasingly anxious. When passengers did not receive suitable information about the nature of the incident and the actions they should take, nor see action they would have expected to be taken, they turned to desperate measures to self-evacuate.

“RAIB investigated a similar incident at Holland Park in 2013 and for a number of years that incident was used as an example to train staff about how to respond to such out-of-course events. However, it was subsequently removed from the training syllabus and since then knowledge of the lessons learnt may well have begun to fade. This incident again demonstrates that learning from past operational incidents needs to be retained by organisations.”

RAIB has made three recommendations to London Underground relating to procedures and training for “out-of-course events”, learning from previous incidents and risk assessments.

Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, said: “I would like to apologise again for the distress this incident caused to customers at Clapham Common and would like to reassure Londoners that we are continuing to do all we can to ensure the safety of everyone on the Tube.

“Our commitment to safety is at the heart of everything we do, and our staff work hard to keep our customers safe in sometimes challenging circumstances. We welcome any opportunities to learn lessons from incidents on our network and, following our own investigation last year, we are already making good progress on the recommendations from the RAIB. This includes changes to our training, which will be in place in the coming weeks.”