Doors opened on moving Victoria Line Tube near Brixton - 23 Feb 2011

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

An inquiry has been launched after the doors of a London Underground train were opened by the driver in error as it approached a red signal.

The southbound Victoria Line train was coming to rest in a tunnel outside Brixton station, south London, when the doors opened.

Transport for London (TfL^» (Transport for London - about)) said the doors were immediately closed again.

It added that the driver confirmed the incident on Wednesday evening was the result of human error.

A TfL spokesman said: "London Underground has launched a full investigation after a southbound 67-stock Victoria line train approaching Brixton on Wednesday evening unexpectedly opened its doors as it came to rest at a red signal. The train was checked following the incident and no customers were affected."

Services were delayed by about five minutes as a result.

[johoare]

If that train had been packed to overflowing (as the Victoria line most often is) then I'm sure people could have been hurt.. People lean against the doors all the time..

That makes me think.. does anyone know if it's possible to open tube doors at speed as that is an even more scary prospect and if it's possible, I won't be leaning against the doors again...

[inspector_blakey]

Most stock with power doors on the mainline railways has an interlock so that it's physically impossible to release the brake unless the doors are proved closed, and conversely so it's not possible to open the doors whilst the train is moving (or would opening the doors just solicit an immediate emergency brake application...?).

I'm not very familiar with tube stock and its operation but there is certainly a tendency for some drivers to open train doors on the Underground before the train has come to a complete halt - I have only experienced this on the older trains, e.g. Bakerloo line 1972 stock. It sounds like this could have been the case here, as it's implied that the doors were opened as the train drew to a halt, rather than whilst it was rattling along at full tilt. Maybe tube stock has an interlock that allows doors to be opened at low speed...?

There's a bit of a discussion about this story here.

[ChrisB]

The train was almost stationary at a red luion on the approacvh to Brixton, so it wouldn't have been packed, even in rush hour....

But yes, I suspect the driver is off driving duty until equiries complete.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) website - details of another incident:

Investigation into an incident at Warren Street station, Victoria Line, London Underground, 11 July 2011

At 17:29 hrs on 11 July, a northbound Victoria Line train departed from Warren Street station with the train doors open on the platform side.  The driver was alerted by shouts from passengers and stopped the train with the leading car part way into the tunnel, by which time the doors had closed.  There were no injuries.

The train consisted of new stock recently introduced into service on the Victoria Line.  Unlike the previous trains on the line, the doors of the new trains are fitted with a ^sensitive edge^ to detect small objects such as clothing or bag straps that may become trapped when the doors close.  If this occurs, the driver receives an immediate emergency brake application and a sensitive edge warning light.  The driver should then reopen and close the train doors so that the trapped object can be released.  If this fails to occur, the driver can override the sensitive edge activation, after checking that nothing is trapped on the outside of the train, and depart from the station.

The RAIB^s preliminary examination has found that a sensitive edge activation occurred at the previous station, Oxford Circus, which the driver departed from by overriding the sensitive edge activation.  The activation did not clear when the train arrived at Warren Street station because the platform was on the other side of the train, so the doors used at Oxford Circus were not opened.  In order to depart from Warren Street station, the driver isolated safety systems which allowed the train to move with the doors open.  Once the train reached 8 km/h (5 mph) the doors closed automatically, as designed.

The investigation will include an examination of the sequence of events leading up to the incident, the driver^s training and competence, and the implementation of sensitive edge doors on the new Victoria Line trains (including the associated control system).

The RAIB^s investigation is independent of any investigations by the safety authority (the Office of Rail Regulation).

The RAIB will publish a report, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of its investigation. This report will be available on the RAIB website.