| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by bobm at 17:14, 17th December 2025 |     |
The RAIB report (no login required) - https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/report-09-slash-2025-buffer-stop-collision-at-london-bridge-station
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 15:06, 17th December 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Train crashed into buffer due to driver microsleep
A train crashed into a buffer at London Bridge railway station due to a driver's microsleep caused by fatigue, the rail safety regulator has said.
At 15:45 GMT on 13 December 2024, the Southern service struck the buffer on platform 12 despite the emergency brake having been applied, a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report found. Nobody was injured.
The driver had less than their normal amount of sleep the night before and the rota "was constructed in a way that increased the risk of fatigue", the report says. The driver had worked many of their rostered rest days before the accident.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) says it now uses "robust scientific modelling to plan staff shifts".
The report also found that none of the engineered protection systems fitted to the train intervened to prevent the collision because the train was travelling too slowly for them to be deployed.
One underlying factor was was that GTR's fatigue risk management "was not sufficiently effective and that it had not adopted some elements of industry good practice", inspectors found.
A second underlying factor concluded "there are no safety systems currently fitted to mainline trains which can detect and mitigate short losses in driver alertness".
The Rail Safety and Standards Board has been urged "to provide guidance when seeking external advice about medical conditions and working hours that may increase the risk of fatigue in safety-critical staff".
The RAIB has recommended GTR improves its fatigue risk management and follow best industry practice.
Samantha Facey, GTR's safety, health and security director, said efforts were being made to meet the recommendations. She said: "Safety is always our number-one priority and we're determined to learn from every incident to improve our safety standard for our people and our customers.
"We're committed to making sure our staff are fit and alert when they're at work – in August we updated and improved our fatigue risk management standard to help us manage fatigue more effectively, which includes reports from staff related to tiredness. We've also set up stronger working groups with staff representatives and we're now using robust scientific modelling to plan staff shifts so we can spot and prevent fatigue before it becomes a risk."
A train crashed into a buffer at London Bridge railway station due to a driver's microsleep caused by fatigue, the rail safety regulator has said.
At 15:45 GMT on 13 December 2024, the Southern service struck the buffer on platform 12 despite the emergency brake having been applied, a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report found. Nobody was injured.
The driver had less than their normal amount of sleep the night before and the rota "was constructed in a way that increased the risk of fatigue", the report says. The driver had worked many of their rostered rest days before the accident.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) says it now uses "robust scientific modelling to plan staff shifts".
The report also found that none of the engineered protection systems fitted to the train intervened to prevent the collision because the train was travelling too slowly for them to be deployed.
One underlying factor was was that GTR's fatigue risk management "was not sufficiently effective and that it had not adopted some elements of industry good practice", inspectors found.
A second underlying factor concluded "there are no safety systems currently fitted to mainline trains which can detect and mitigate short losses in driver alertness".
The Rail Safety and Standards Board has been urged "to provide guidance when seeking external advice about medical conditions and working hours that may increase the risk of fatigue in safety-critical staff".
The RAIB has recommended GTR improves its fatigue risk management and follow best industry practice.
Samantha Facey, GTR's safety, health and security director, said efforts were being made to meet the recommendations. She said: "Safety is always our number-one priority and we're determined to learn from every incident to improve our safety standard for our people and our customers.
"We're committed to making sure our staff are fit and alert when they're at work – in August we updated and improved our fatigue risk management standard to help us manage fatigue more effectively, which includes reports from staff related to tiredness. We've also set up stronger working groups with staff representatives and we're now using robust scientific modelling to plan staff shifts so we can spot and prevent fatigue before it becomes a risk."
| London Bridge Bufferstop collision 13 December 2024 - report Posted by Witham Bobby at 14:07, 17th December 2025 | |
https://www.railmagazine.com/news/fatigued-driver-experienced-microsleep-before-london-bridge-buffer-stop-collision
Almost certain fatigued driver "experienced microsleep" before buffer stop collision - RAIB
From Rail Briefing
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by ChrisB at 20:58, 17th December 2024 | |
From Evening Standard, via MSN
Man arrested after train crashes into buffers at London Bridge
A man has been arrested after a train collided with buffers at London Bridge.
A Southern service travelling from Victoria collided with the station’s end barriers on Friday afternoon.
Govia Thameslink Railway said the train “collided with the buffers at low speed” as it arrived at the station.
British Transport Police confirmed the suspect arrested on suspicion of endangerment on the railway has been released on bail
In a statement, BTP added officers were called to the collision at 3.53pm. There were no reported injuries.
GTR said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch had been informed about the incident. They have been contacted for a response.
A spokesman added passengers on board left the station and the platform is back in use.
A man has been arrested after a train collided with buffers at London Bridge.
A Southern service travelling from Victoria collided with the station’s end barriers on Friday afternoon.
Govia Thameslink Railway said the train “collided with the buffers at low speed” as it arrived at the station.
British Transport Police confirmed the suspect arrested on suspicion of endangerment on the railway has been released on bail
In a statement, BTP added officers were called to the collision at 3.53pm. There were no reported injuries.
GTR said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch had been informed about the incident. They have been contacted for a response.
A spokesman added passengers on board left the station and the platform is back in use.
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by IndustryInsider at 10:44, 17th December 2024 | |
Not wishing to speculate, but arrest would happen if a driver were to fail the 'for cause' alcohol and drug screening which happens to all those involved in such an incident.
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by broadgage at 10:15, 17th December 2024 | |
Would it be in any way possible for a member of the public to access the driver's cab from the passenger saloon and somehow prevent the driver from bringing the train to a stop safely? I assume that driving cabs are protected by a robust door locking system but that may not be the case, or there was one and it was not activated.
Not that robust ! often access is only prevented by means of a lock operated by a square key, often called a "carriage key" these can be obtained in various ways.
If an unauthorised person gained access to the driving cab, I would expect that the driver would brake hard, or release the DSD or drivers safety device.
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by grahame at 09:01, 17th December 2024 | |
Would it be in any way possible for a member of the public to access the driver's cab from the passenger saloon and somehow prevent the driver from bringing the train to a stop safely? I assume that driving cabs are protected by a robust door locking system but that may not be the case, or there was one and it was not activated.
Hmmm ... dangerous to speculate. However - I am aware that on SWR class 158 trains, the passenger door directly being the driver's cab is always kept out of service for the security of the driver. My understanding is this is why SWR trains never call at Milton Marsh.
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by Bob_Blakey at 08:43, 17th December 2024 | |
Would it be in any way possible for a member of the public to access the driver's cab from the passenger saloon and somehow prevent the driver from bringing the train to a stop safely? I assume that driving cabs are protected by a robust door locking system but that may not be the case, or there was one and it was not activated.
| Re: Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by Ralph Ayres at 22:53, 16th December 2024 | |
A very partial report, presumably because details haven't been released as they might prejudice the inquiry. Trouble is that tends to encourage speculation and here goes! Hard to see how the man arrested could be anyone other than the train's driver, but perhaps that (and the accompanying "suspicion of endangerment on the railway" reason) is now standard procedure in the case of any such incident to avoid any later legal loopholes and doesn't necessarily mean the driver is at fault. Can anyone with current knowledge of such procedures confirm this?
| Man arrested after London train hits buffers - London Bridge, 13 Dec 2024 Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 18:54, 16th December 2024 | |
From the BBC:
A man has been arrested after a train collided with buffers at London Bridge station.
The incident on Friday afternoon involved a Southern train travelling from Victoria.
A Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) spokesperson said the train "collided with the buffers at low speed" as it arrived at the station.
A man was arrested on suspicion of endangerment on the railway and has been released on bail, British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed.
In a statement BTP added officers were called to the collision at 15:53 GMT but there were no reported injuries.
GTR said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) had been informed about the incident. They have been contacted for a response.
GTR said passengers on the train left the station and the platform was back in use.
A spokesperson for the RAIB said: "The RAIB has been notified of an incident which occurred on Friday evening at London Bridge mainline station.
"Evidence is being gathered as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days."
The incident on Friday afternoon involved a Southern train travelling from Victoria.
A Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) spokesperson said the train "collided with the buffers at low speed" as it arrived at the station.
A man was arrested on suspicion of endangerment on the railway and has been released on bail, British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed.
In a statement BTP added officers were called to the collision at 15:53 GMT but there were no reported injuries.
GTR said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) had been informed about the incident. They have been contacted for a response.
GTR said passengers on the train left the station and the platform was back in use.
A spokesperson for the RAIB said: "The RAIB has been notified of an incident which occurred on Friday evening at London Bridge mainline station.
"Evidence is being gathered as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days."
