Pensioner died after falling on Tube tracks and being struck by four trains

16 January 2025, 15:55 | Updated: 16 January 2025, 16:13

A pensioner who fell on Tube tracks at Stratford Underground station was fatally struck by four trains, an investigation has revealed.

Brian Mitchell, 72, was stranded on the tracks of the Jubilee line platform for five and a half minutes. He tried to pull himself off the tracks but was unable to climb back up.

Mr Mitchell, who had been visiting a friend, was travelling from Stanmore on Boxing Day 2023. He fell forwards about 0.7m onto the live tracks.

He was not spotted on CCTV at the station or by the driver of the first incoming train.

An investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch(RAIB), published on Thursday, found that the driver may not have noticed as the train was operating in automatic mode.

It concluded that the "repetitive nature" of driving a train under automatic train operation "may lead to a state of underload, resulting in the attentional capacity of train operators being diminished".

"This can increase the likelihood of effects on performance such as reduced alertness or distraction," it said.

The driver may have also been distracted by another driver waiting on the platform as the train pulled in.

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A second driver also failed to notice Mr Mitchell, who was caught between the platform edge and the nearest rail to the platform.

A third driver saw something on the tracks but thought it was an "inflatable doll" rather than a person.

A fourth driver was still allowed to pull in at the station despite a customer service assistant having been informed at that point that a person was on the tracks.

The RAIB investigation said the fourth driver was aware that there was someone on the tracks but still did not stop.

A toxicology report found that the victim had 272mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his body - more than three times over the drink-drive limit.

Mr Mitchell arrived at the station just before 2pm and spent 45 minutes sat on a seat on the platform.

He stood up and "immediately stumbled forwards and fell from the platform onto the adjacent track".

"Unable to get to a position of safety, the passenger lay on the track undiscovered for around five minutes before being struck by an arriving train, which then stopped normally in the platform," the report said.

"The presence of the passenger remained unknown and a further three inbound trains entered the terminal platform and went through the location where the passenger was lying. The passenger was fatally injured.

"The passenger fell at a time when there were no other passengers or staff present on the platform and there was no intervention made to prevent the first train from arriving."

The report went on to say: "Station CCTV images show the passenger sitting up and making attempts to get back onto the platform.

"They then lie down on the track, parallel to the rails, on the part of the track between the platform and the nearest running rail."

The noise from another train departing platform 14 "might have masked any noise the passenger might have been making", it said.

A month after the incident, RAIB inspectors watched 34 trains arrive in the station, with only 10 drivers having remained seated.

On 21 occasions, drivers were seen standing and, of those, two were seen putting on their coats as the train pulled in.

Two recommendations have been made to Transport for London: consider using tech to identify passengers in danger and investigate how drivers are affected by trains operating in automatic mode.

TfL's chief safety officer Lilli Matson: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Mitchell, who sadly died at Stratford Tube station on 26 December 2023.

"We welcome the recommendations from the RAIB’s independent investigation into this incident, which align with the findings of our own internal investigation, and work has already begun to implement them.

"While serious injuries on our network are rare, we are undertaking a huge range of work to eradicate such incidents and make the network even safer for everyone."