Stratford tube crash
{{Short description|1953 London Underground crash}}
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{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}{{Infobox public transit accident
| name = Stratford tube crash
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| date = 8 April 1953
| time = 18:56
| location = Stratford station, London
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| country = England
| line = Central line
| operator = London Transport
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| cause = Driver error
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| trains = 2
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| passengers = ~900
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| deaths = 12
| injuries = 46
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| footnotes = List of UK rail accidents by year
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The Stratford tube crash occurred on 8 April 1953, on the Central line of the London Underground. 12 people died and 46 were injured as a result of a rear-end collision in a tunnel, caused by driver error after a signal failure. This was the worst accident involving trains on the London Underground until the Moorgate tube crash in 1975. A similar accident at exactly the same location, occurred in 1946, before the line was open for public traffic; one railwayman died.
Collision
The Central line was extended from Liverpool Street to Stratford in November 1946,{{Cite book |last=Croome |first=Desmond F. |title=Rails through the clay: a history of London's tube railways |last2=Jackson |first2=Alan A. |date=1993 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-151-4 |edition=2nd |location=Harrow Weald |pages=286}} and was extended further to Leytonstone in 1948.{{Cite book |last=Croome |first=Desmond F. |title=Rails through the clay: a history of London's tube railways |last2=Jackson |first2=Alan A. |date=1993 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-151-4 |edition=2nd |location=Harrow Weald |pages=287, 291}}
A signal (A491) in the tunnel between Stratford and Leyton had been damaged, and this and the preceding signal (A489) were showing a permanent red aspect. Trains were being worked slowly past the failed signals under the "Stop and Proceed" rule, under which trains should proceed with extreme caution, typically less than {{convert|10|mph|abbr=on}}. However, one train collided with the back of another which was waiting at signal A491, and the first and second coaches of the colliding train were partially telescoped.{{cite report |url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Stratford1953.pdf |title=Report on the Collision which occurred on 8th April 1953 near Stratford on the Central Line |last=McMullen |first=D. |author2=London Transport Executive |date=October 1953 |publisher=Her Majestry's Stationery Office |editor=Ministry of Transport |work=Railway Accidents}}
12 people were killed, with 5 people suffering serious injuries and 41 people slightly injured.{{Cite web |date=2016-04-13 |title=Plaque unveiled to remember victims of Stratford Tube crash |url=https://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/news/21441251.plaque-unveiled-remember-victims-stratford-tube-crash/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Newham Recorder |language=en}}
Investigation
The Inspecting Officer considered that the extent of the damage suggested the speed was in the region of {{convert|15|-|20|mph|abbr=on}}, and when the driver had passed signal A489, he had simply coasted down the steep down gradient, not expecting to find another train before the next signal. The driver claimed to have been travelling slowly and that his vision had been obscured by a cloud of dust, but it was felt his memory could have been affected by concussion.
Memorial
A memorial plaque to the accident was unveiled at Stratford Station on 8 April 2016 by Lyn Brown, Member of Parliament for West Ham. Members of the families of those killed in the crash were also in attendance along with Mike Brown, Commissioner of Transport for London.
References
{{Reflist}}
- [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=109 Railways Archive account, including official Accident Report]
- [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=1307 Railways Archive account and Accident Report of 1946 accident]
- {{cite book | first1=L.T.C. | last1=Rolt | year=1982 |orig-year=1955 | title=Red for Danger | publisher= David and Charles |author-link1=L. T. C. Rolt |last2=Kichenside |first2=Geoffrey M. |edition=4th |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-8362-0 |pages=281–282 }}
{{1953 railway accidents}}
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999|state=collapsed}}
{{London rail accidents}}
Category:Disasters on the London Underground
Category:Railway accidents in 1953
Category:1953 disasters in the United Kingdom
Category:April 1953 in the United Kingdom
Category:History of the London Borough of Newham
Category:Train collisions in England
Category:Rail accidents caused by a driver's error
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