An investigation has been launched after a passenger was forced to run alongside an Elizabeth line train after his hand became trapped in the doors.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is examining what happened just after midnight at Ealing Broadway station on November 24.
In a summary of the so-called “trap and drag” incident, it said that the unnamed passenger’s hand “became trapped in the closing doors of a train at Ealing Broadway station on the Elizabeth line”.
The RAIB said on Tuesday: “The train subsequently departed from the platform with the passenger’s hand still trapped in the doors.
“The passenger, who had been attempting to board the train, was forced to run alongside it for several metres before being pulled away by a member of railway staff who was working on the platform.
“The driver was alerted to what was happening by nearby passengers, and the train stopped after moving approximately 17 metres.
“The passenger is reported to have sustained minor injuries because of the accident.”
It is the latest alarming incident involving the Elizabeth line at Ealing Broadway station.
At least three passengers have suffered injury after falling between the sizeable gap between the platform and train at the station, prompting an apology from Mayor Sadiq Khan and a promise to look into whether the platform can be raised in height.
The incident also comes in the wake of a rail industry campaign to warn passengers to stand behind the yellow line, after a man was knocked over by a Thameslink train at Blackfriars station.
The RAIB said its investigation will seek to establish the sequence of events that led to the accident at Ealing Broadway.
It will also consider:
* the actions of those involved and anything which may have influenced them
* the arrangements in place to manage and control the risks associated with passengers boarding and alighting from trains on the Elizabeth line
* post-incident management of platform-train interface accidents
* any underlying management factors.
The RAIB will publish its findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, when its investigation concludes next year.
In February last year, a 101-year-old woman required hospital treatment after her coat got caught in the closing doors of a Northern line Tube train at Archway.
This was followed two months later by a similar incident at Chalk Farm station.
The incidents led the RAIB to make a series of safety recommendations to TfL, which subcontracts the operation of the Elizabeth line to private consortium MTR.
TfL has been approached for comment.
