London Underground fined £500K

Staff reporter(wp/es):

London Underground has been fined £500,000 after a maintenance worker was left seriously injured when he plunged more than 30ft down a lift shaft at a disused Tube station. 

The worker suffered several injuries and spent ten days in hospital after he fell from scaffolding while cleaning an elevator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said.

Its investigation found London Underground failed to properly plan, manage and supervise the work being carried out at the disused South Kentish Town tube station. 

Inspectors also found the scaffold was incorrectly assembled and its stability had not been assessed when the incident took place on September 22, 2014. 

The ORR said procedures which may have prevented the fall were in place, but were not implemented or followed.

London Underground was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 costs after pleading guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act at Blackfriars Crown Court on October 7 this year.

Keith Atkinson, HM Principal Inspector of Railways, said: "In 2014, London Underground's failure to properly plan, manage or supervise maintenance work at the disused station in South Kentish Town led to a worker spending ten days in hospital, and could have been fatal.

"London Underground has a good safety record, but this incident highlights why there can be no room for complacency. 

"Safety remains a top priority for the rail regulator. We will always take action against companies or individuals where failings are found."

London Underground fully addressed issues relating to safe access into the former lift shaft and the incorrectly assembled scaffold following the incident.

A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman said: "This was clearly a serious incident involving one of our employees and we acted quickly to investigate the causes and take action to ensure that it does not happen again."

The station opened in 1907 but closed in 1924 because not enough people used it. 

The old entrance to the tube station is now occupied by a pawnbroker store Cash Converters.