Pub worker who fell onto Tube tracks lay ‘undiscovered’ before being hit by a train

A pub worker died at a northwest London station after staggering and falling onto the tracks without anyone noticing.

The passenger, who has not been named, was killed at Ickenham Underground Station on March 28 last year while travelling home after a Friday evening shift at a nearby pub.

After losing their balance and tumbling down from the London-bound platform, the passenger was on the tracks for around two minutes before being crushed by the entire length of a Metropolitan line train.

It took the station staff almost another 10 minutes to notice them on the tracks.

The passenger had drunk a glass of wine after the shift, an eyewitness told the investigators from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

CCTV at the station appeared to show the passenger falling back against the guard railings before gaining their balance and going through the barriers to the station.

While going down the stairs to platform 2, the passenger fell six times and took nearly four minutes to get to the bottom of the stairs, the investigation report said.

The alcohol level in the passenger’s blood was found to show ‘profound intoxication’ and ‘grossly impaired motor function,’ according to the post-mortem toxicology report.

Footage captured the moment the passenger ‘staggered’ backwards towards the track before falling backwards over the edge of the platform while trying to regain balance at about 10.30pm.

It also showed how they tried to reach up towards the edge again after falling in a bid to reach safety.

Meanwhile, night-shift staff walked on the opposite platform and at one point, faced the passenger, but from around 318 feet away, and didn’t spot them.

CCTV appeared to show the passenger looking towards the approaching eastbound Metropolitan line train before moving themselves towards the ‘survival space’ under the platform edge, and disappearing from camera view.

The approaching train then passed by the spot at about 11mph before it stopped. No passengers got on or off the train.

The impact with the person on the tracks activated the train’s mechanism known as tripcock, designed to detect obstructions and trigger an emergency stop, which the driver reported as unexpected.

However, the entire length of the train had already passed over where the passenger was lying by the time the train stopped, the investigators found.

The passenger was eventually discovered around 45 feet from where they fell.

The ‘survival space’ – known as under-platfrom recess – under the platform was full of cables, which is against the London Underground’s standards, the report said. This likely blocked the passenger from fitting in to seek cover and avoid being struck, although their exact position was not known when being hit.

Darkness at the time of the accident may have played a role, and a shadow cast by the platform edge made them near invisible to the driver in the cab.

Following the tragedy, Underground staff will be trained on how to support passengers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Nick Dent, TfL’s director of customer operations, told Metro: ‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the person who sadly died at Ickenham Tube station on 28 March 2025.

‘We fully supported the Rail Accident Investigation Branch in their investigation and have conducted our own internal investigation.

‘We are considering the recommendations from the RAIB and will be taking forward action to address them, along with the recommendations from our own internal review. Safety remains our top priority and we are acting ensure that our customers are safe when travelling on our network.’

TfL is currently trialling AI cameras designed to detect and send alerts if people fall onto the track or into the gap between the train and the platform.

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