London Underground trains have a speed limit when entering certain stations, with drivers only allowed to accelerate to a maximum 10mph. This is as a result of a tragic accident 49 years ago.
A crash in 1975 led to the deaths of 43 people, with 74 people injured. It was the worst collision in peacetime on the Tube.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) describes how the incident happened when a southbound Northern City Line - which used to be a London Underground line before being taken on by British Rail in 1976 - train from Drayton Park failed to stop at the platform. It was then driven into the concrete wall at the end of the tunnel at Moorgate station.
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The National Archives says the train was carrying 300 passengers and hit the sand-drag, which is designed to slow trains that had failed to stop, hitting the buffer-stop and crashing into the concrete wall at the end of the tunnel. The recommended speed on approaching the station was 15mph, but on this occasion the train was reportedly travelling at more than 35mph and appeared to be accelerating.
The front three carriages had been crushed together and the station was in total darkness when rescuers arrived. A six-day operation then began.
This involved 1,324 firefighters, 240 police officers, 80 ambulance workers, 16 doctors and many volunteers, the LFB says. The last body to be brought out of the tunnel was that of the driver, Leslie Newson, a 56-year-old husband and father of two children.
Precise circumstances surrounding crash 'a mystery'
The precise circumstances surrounding the cause of the incident has never been identified. The NA calls is a 'mystery'.
Information on its website reads: "To this day no-one has been able to explain why it happened. The Official Department of the Environment Report on the accident (RAIL 1053/161/5) reveals that the train was old, dating from 1938, but it and the braking system were all in good working order.
"The report includes statements from work colleagues who say that the driver, Leslie Newson, was known to be naturally cautious in his driving habits. A quiet man with few friends, he always wore his uniform in full and rarely drank alcohol. His usual practice when approaching stations was to slow down early and let the train coast into position at the platform.
"A post mortem showed that he had not had a heart attack, nor had he suffered an epileptic fit. The previous day he had asked his wife to withdraw some money with which he planned to buy his daughter a car – not the actions of someone intent on suicide, although the press made the point that he had not even raised his hands to protect his face when the crash occurred."
Following the disaster, London Transport introduced a rule that implemented a 10mph speed limit on all trains entering ‘dead end’ stations.
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