§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases of the doors of underground trains opening while the train is in motion have been reported in each of the past five years:(a) on the central line and (b) on all the Underground network; what steps London Regional Transport has taken to prevent this occurring; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David MitchellDuring the period 1983 to 1986 no incidents of this kind were reported. So far during 1987 the railway inspectorate has been notified of seven such incidents, two of them on the central line. Since none of the incidents involved injury to persons they were not strictly reportable under the legislation. The 1987 reports prompted discussion earlier in the year between the inspectorate and London Underground Ltd. LUL has been asked to examine the problem, to report on its findings and in doing so to consider what reasonable and practicable modifications to the rolling stock might be introduced such as to prevent errors by train crews, the only identified cause of the reported incidents, from causing train doors to open during running.