Moorgate tube crash
Encyclopedia
The Moorgate tube crash was a railway disaster on the London Underground
, which occurred on 28 February 1975 at 08.46 am.
A southbound train on the Northern Line (Highbury Branch)
crashed into the tunnel end beyond the platform at Moorgate station
. Forty-three people were killed at the scene, either from the impact or from suffocation, the greatest loss of life during peacetime in the London Underground, and the second greatest loss of life on the entire London Transport
system (the first being the 7 July 2005 London bombings
). The cause of the incident was never determined conclusively.
The crash had two consequences for the London Underground. Firstly, the southern end of the Highbury Branch platforms (where the crash happened) were rebuilt extensively. Secondly, automatic systems for stopping trains were introduced into dead-ends on the tube, regardless of whether the driver brakes the train. These systems came to be known informally as Moorgate control.
on the Highbury Branch, terminating at platform nine of Moorgate station seven minutes later. At that time plans were being developed for the service, known previously as the Great Northern & City Railway and then as the Northern City Line, to be transferred to British Rail
ways. (It is now operated by First Capital Connect
). The train was formed of two three-car units of 1938 tube stock
. The leading unit comprised driving motor 11175, trailer 012263 and driving motor 10175. The trailing unit comprised driving motor 11115, trailer 012167, driving motor 10015.
Instead of braking on arrival the train seemed to accelerate, taking the crossover at about 35 miles per hour (56.3 km/h). At the end of the platform was a 66 feet (20.1 m) long overrun tunnel with a red stop-lamp, then a sand drag, and finally a single hydraulic buffer
in front of a brick wall. The sand drag slowed the train but it smashed into the buffer at about 40 miles per hour (64.4 km/h) and then into the wall. The first emergency call was received at 8:53 am.
The overrun tunnel was built to accommodate surface line loading gauge trains and was 16 feet (4.9 m) high. The smaller diameter of the tube train meant that the second car in the set rode up above the trailing end of the driving car (telescoping
), and landed on top of it. The third car split apart lengthwise and rode over the end of the second car. The driving car suffered the most damage, buckling at two points into a V shape, crushed between the wall and the weight of its train piling up behind it.
The recovery process was exceptionally difficult because of the confined space, tangled wreckage, heat and lack of air. It took more than 12 hours to free the last survivor. Because it was so difficult to reach the front cab, the body of the driver, Leslie Newson, was not recovered until four days later. All the emergency services were commended for their efforts.
Newson was shown to have still been holding the dead man's handle, a device that immediately applies the brakes when released. He had not put his hands up to protect his face from the impact, and some witnesses claimed that he had increased the speed of the train before impact. Some witnesses stated that Newson was sitting upright in his seat and looking straight ahead as the train passed through the station. The state of the motor control gear as found after the accident indicated that power had been applied to the motors until within two seconds of the collision.
The post mortem examination did not find any evidence of a medical problem such as a stroke or heart attack that could have incapacitated Newson; he did not seem to have consumed alcohol, although testing for this was hampered by the four-and-a-half days it took to retrieve his body from the wreckage. Dr P. A. B. Raffle, the Chief Medical Officer of London Transport, gave evidence to the inquest and the official enquiry that Newson might have been paralysed temporarily by a rare kind of brain seizure (known as "akinesis with mutism" or "transient global amnesia"). In this situation, the brain continues to function and the individual remains aware although they cannot move physically.
The writer Laurence Marks, whose father died in the disaster, spent a year investigating it for The Sunday Times
and later broadcast a Channel 4
documentary Me, My Dad and Moorgate on 4 June 2006. According to Marks, the crash was deliberate. He points to Newson's driver error in overrunning a platform at least once before the accident as a "dry run" for his own suicide. Although this theory was rejected by the coroner's jury whose verdict was accidental death, the Department of Environment official report stated (at para 101): "[T]he possibility that the collision was the outcome of a deliberate, suicidal act cannot be ignored, although there is no positive evidence to support it." Newson was not a frequent drinker of alcohol, and the traces of alcohol found in his stomach were, according to Marks, the result of the "Dutch courage
" required to see the act through. The pathological reports presented to the enquiry explained it was possible that Newson's stomach contents could have fermented during the four days his body was trapped in the stifling heat of the tunnel. This would explain the presence of trace amounts of alcohol.
is known as Moorgate Control or, more formally and generically, TETS (Trains Entering Terminal Stations) and was introduced at all dead-end tunnels and termini on manually driven lines on the underground system. It was also installed on the main-line trains that now use the former Northern Line platforms 9 and 10 at Moorgate.
Moorgate Control consists of a pair of standard train stop
units as used to halt trains that pass red signals. One is installed at the entry to the station platform and one about halfway along the platform. The train stops are normally in the raised position. As a train approaches, it moves onto a section of track that initiates a time delay. At the conclusion of the delay, the train stop is lowered allowing the train to pass. The time delay is such that if the train is travelling at more than 10 mph (16 km/h) its trip cock
will hit the train stop before it lowers. This exhausts the air from the braking system applying the emergency brakes. Both train stops have to be lowered to allow the train to leave the station.
In the scheme as originally proposed, the train stops were augmented by a resistor in the traction current supply that was intended to prevent the driver from accelerating once he had passed either (or both) train stops. The first run of the trial (the re-acceleration test) was claimed initially as a success as the driver indeed could not accelerate. However, it was then discovered that the train was trapped in the trial siding unable to leave. The resistor was not included in the scheme as implemented.
Moorgate Control is based on a special feature of signalling systems used provide for protected reduced overlap operation in areas signalled for close headways. One such system has been used on the City Railway in Sydney, New South Wales, since 1932. On that railway timer-controlled train stops are positioned at and between signals and, used in conjunction with a special Low Speed signal indication.. It was conceived by the English signal engineer, Mr C.B. Byles, who worked for New South Wales Government Railways from 1911 until 1929. On London Underground a similar effect was achieved simply by a signal not changing to green until a predetermined amount of time had passed since the train activated a track circuit. This signalling feature was not adopted for the purposes of preventing dead-end overruns until after the Moorgate incident.
, became concerned at the possibility of a similar event happening at a terminus. An early consequence was to change the signalling system so that a colour light signal would not show green on approach to a dead-end terminus. This effectively regarded the fixed stop light at the buffers as part of the signalling system and required an appropriate 'caution' aspect to be displayed at the preceding signal. The displaying of a caution aspect in turn caused the Automatic Warning System
horn to be sounded if AWS was fitted. This had to be acknowledged or the train brakes would be applied automatically. The eventual adoption of slow speed control when approaching dead-end platforms as part of Train Protection & Warning System was due to the Moorgate tube crash.
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
, which occurred on 28 February 1975 at 08.46 am.
A southbound train on the Northern Line (Highbury Branch)
Northern City Line
The Northern City Line is a railway line from Moorgate to Finsbury Park in London, once part of the Great Northern Electrics line. It should not be confused with the City branch of the Northern line, nor with the North London Line...
crashed into the tunnel end beyond the platform at Moorgate station
Moorgate station
Moorgate station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground station on Moorgate in the City of London; it provides National Rail services by First Capital Connect for Hertford, Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth and also serves the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan Lines and...
. Forty-three people were killed at the scene, either from the impact or from suffocation, the greatest loss of life during peacetime in the London Underground, and the second greatest loss of life on the entire London Transport
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
system (the first being the 7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
). The cause of the incident was never determined conclusively.
The crash had two consequences for the London Underground. Firstly, the southern end of the Highbury Branch platforms (where the crash happened) were rebuilt extensively. Secondly, automatic systems for stopping trains were introduced into dead-ends on the tube, regardless of whether the driver brakes the train. These systems came to be known informally as Moorgate control.
Details of the incident
The train was the 8:39 am from Drayton ParkDrayton Park railway station
Drayton Park railway station is on the Network Rail Northern City Line which carries First Capital Connect services between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City or Hertford via Finsbury Park...
on the Highbury Branch, terminating at platform nine of Moorgate station seven minutes later. At that time plans were being developed for the service, known previously as the Great Northern & City Railway and then as the Northern City Line, to be transferred to British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways. (It is now operated by First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...
). The train was formed of two three-car units of 1938 tube stock
London Underground 1938 Stock
The 1938 Tube Stock is a London Underground tube stock design. The trains were built by Metro-Cammell and Birmingham RC&W, and were used on the London Underground until 1988. During their long lives they worked on the Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Northern, East London and Central lines...
. The leading unit comprised driving motor 11175, trailer 012263 and driving motor 10175. The trailing unit comprised driving motor 11115, trailer 012167, driving motor 10015.
Instead of braking on arrival the train seemed to accelerate, taking the crossover at about 35 miles per hour (56.3 km/h). At the end of the platform was a 66 feet (20.1 m) long overrun tunnel with a red stop-lamp, then a sand drag, and finally a single hydraulic buffer
Buffer stop
A buffer stop or bumper is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track.The design of the buffer stop is dependent in part upon the kind of couplings that the railway uses, since the coupling gear is the first part of the vehicle that the buffer stop...
in front of a brick wall. The sand drag slowed the train but it smashed into the buffer at about 40 miles per hour (64.4 km/h) and then into the wall. The first emergency call was received at 8:53 am.
Telescoping (railway)
In a railway accident, telescoping occurs when the underframe of one vehicle overrides that of another, and smashes through the second vehicle's body...
), and landed on top of it. The third car split apart lengthwise and rode over the end of the second car. The driving car suffered the most damage, buckling at two points into a V shape, crushed between the wall and the weight of its train piling up behind it.
The recovery process was exceptionally difficult because of the confined space, tangled wreckage, heat and lack of air. It took more than 12 hours to free the last survivor. Because it was so difficult to reach the front cab, the body of the driver, Leslie Newson, was not recovered until four days later. All the emergency services were commended for their efforts.
Possible causes
The cause of the crash was never determined satisfactorily. The 56-year-old driver, Leslie Newson, had worked for London Underground since 1969, was in good health and did not consume alcohol or drugs. Police investigation showed that he did not have any reason to be suicidal and had £300 in his pocket, which he was intending to use to buy a car for his daughter after the end of his shift.Newson was shown to have still been holding the dead man's handle, a device that immediately applies the brakes when released. He had not put his hands up to protect his face from the impact, and some witnesses claimed that he had increased the speed of the train before impact. Some witnesses stated that Newson was sitting upright in his seat and looking straight ahead as the train passed through the station. The state of the motor control gear as found after the accident indicated that power had been applied to the motors until within two seconds of the collision.
The post mortem examination did not find any evidence of a medical problem such as a stroke or heart attack that could have incapacitated Newson; he did not seem to have consumed alcohol, although testing for this was hampered by the four-and-a-half days it took to retrieve his body from the wreckage. Dr P. A. B. Raffle, the Chief Medical Officer of London Transport, gave evidence to the inquest and the official enquiry that Newson might have been paralysed temporarily by a rare kind of brain seizure (known as "akinesis with mutism" or "transient global amnesia"). In this situation, the brain continues to function and the individual remains aware although they cannot move physically.
The writer Laurence Marks, whose father died in the disaster, spent a year investigating it for The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
and later broadcast a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary Me, My Dad and Moorgate on 4 June 2006. According to Marks, the crash was deliberate. He points to Newson's driver error in overrunning a platform at least once before the accident as a "dry run" for his own suicide. Although this theory was rejected by the coroner's jury whose verdict was accidental death, the Department of Environment official report stated (at para 101): "[T]he possibility that the collision was the outcome of a deliberate, suicidal act cannot be ignored, although there is no positive evidence to support it." Newson was not a frequent drinker of alcohol, and the traces of alcohol found in his stomach were, according to Marks, the result of the "Dutch courage
Dutch courage
Dutch courage or liquid courage refers to courage gained from intoxication by alcohol. Originally the phrase 'Dutch courage' referred to the courage that results from indulgence in Dutch gin , but 'Dutch courage' can also apply to the gin itself.In 1650 Franciscus Sylvius, a Dutch doctor, created...
" required to see the act through. The pathological reports presented to the enquiry explained it was possible that Newson's stomach contents could have fermented during the four days his body was trapped in the stifling heat of the tunnel. This would explain the presence of trace amounts of alcohol.
Moorgate control
The accident resulted in the introduction of automatic controls to prevent the incident occurring again. The system on the London UndergroundLondon Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
is known as Moorgate Control or, more formally and generically, TETS (Trains Entering Terminal Stations) and was introduced at all dead-end tunnels and termini on manually driven lines on the underground system. It was also installed on the main-line trains that now use the former Northern Line platforms 9 and 10 at Moorgate.
Moorgate Control consists of a pair of standard train stop
Train stop
Part of a railway signalling system, a train stop or trip stop is a train protection device that automatically stops a train if it attempts to pass a signal when the signal aspect and operating rules prohibit such movement, or if it attempts to pass at an excessive speed.- Basic operation :The...
units as used to halt trains that pass red signals. One is installed at the entry to the station platform and one about halfway along the platform. The train stops are normally in the raised position. As a train approaches, it moves onto a section of track that initiates a time delay. At the conclusion of the delay, the train stop is lowered allowing the train to pass. The time delay is such that if the train is travelling at more than 10 mph (16 km/h) its trip cock
Train stop
Part of a railway signalling system, a train stop or trip stop is a train protection device that automatically stops a train if it attempts to pass a signal when the signal aspect and operating rules prohibit such movement, or if it attempts to pass at an excessive speed.- Basic operation :The...
will hit the train stop before it lowers. This exhausts the air from the braking system applying the emergency brakes. Both train stops have to be lowered to allow the train to leave the station.
In the scheme as originally proposed, the train stops were augmented by a resistor in the traction current supply that was intended to prevent the driver from accelerating once he had passed either (or both) train stops. The first run of the trial (the re-acceleration test) was claimed initially as a success as the driver indeed could not accelerate. However, it was then discovered that the train was trapped in the trial siding unable to leave. The resistor was not included in the scheme as implemented.
Moorgate Control is based on a special feature of signalling systems used provide for protected reduced overlap operation in areas signalled for close headways. One such system has been used on the City Railway in Sydney, New South Wales, since 1932. On that railway timer-controlled train stops are positioned at and between signals and, used in conjunction with a special Low Speed signal indication.. It was conceived by the English signal engineer, Mr C.B. Byles, who worked for New South Wales Government Railways from 1911 until 1929. On London Underground a similar effect was achieved simply by a signal not changing to green until a predetermined amount of time had passed since the train activated a track circuit. This signalling feature was not adopted for the purposes of preventing dead-end overruns until after the Moorgate incident.
Consequences for main line railways
The then national rail company, British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, became concerned at the possibility of a similar event happening at a terminus. An early consequence was to change the signalling system so that a colour light signal would not show green on approach to a dead-end terminus. This effectively regarded the fixed stop light at the buffers as part of the signalling system and required an appropriate 'caution' aspect to be displayed at the preceding signal. The displaying of a caution aspect in turn caused the Automatic Warning System
Automatic Warning System
The Automatic Warning System is a form of limited cab signalling and train protection system introduced in 1956 in the United Kingdom to help train drivers observe and obey signals. It was based on a 1930 system developed by Alfred Ernest Hudd and marketed as the "Strowger-Hudd" system...
horn to be sounded if AWS was fitted. This had to be acknowledged or the train brakes would be applied automatically. The eventual adoption of slow speed control when approaching dead-end platforms as part of Train Protection & Warning System was due to the Moorgate tube crash.