LUL Chancery Lane derailment

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) final report into the Central Line train derailment at Chancery Lane tube station on 25 January 2003 was published in March 2006.

The report concluded that London Underground Limited (LUL) and Infraco BCV Ltd (iBCV) (now Metronet BCV) had done what was reasonably practicable with regard to both maintenance procedures and the operational response to the incident. The immediate cause of the derailment was the detachment of the rearmost traction motor on the fifth car, itself caused by gearbox failure.

HSE decided that formal enforcement action was not appropriate in this instance. The companies’ responses to the incident and issues leading up to it, although capable of improvement, fell within the range of being reasonable in the light of available knowledge and industry practice at the time. Staff from both companies co-operated with HSE on the investigation.

Documents