Tube rescue delayed by safety failure

Emergency services were prevented from reaching a man who died trapped under a Tube train because the track current could not be turned off, it was revealed today.

London Underground chiefs have launched a major investigation into the "unprecedented" safety failure. The 630 volt current is more than enough to kill instantly.

The Tube train driver sent out a distress call immediately after the man jumped or fell in front of his Piccadilly line service at Russell Square.

Traction power should have been switched off within seconds, as is standard procedure, to allow emergency services to climb down under the train - but it took 22 minutes for this to happen.

The line controller desperately tried to turn off the power but, for an as-yet unexplained reason, his controls did not respond.

The driver tried to use an emergency device on the track to turn off the current, but this failed when it overheated and burned out. Power was eventually switched off manually at a local control room.

When paramedics reached the trapped man he was dead. It is believed he died instantly on being struck by the train and not as a result of the delay in receiving medical attention.

The incident has caused alarm both among drivers and those in charge of the power supply who pride themselves on acting immediately on receiving a distress call.

A Piccadilly line driver said: "This sort of delay could easily mean the difference between life and death. The worry is that if it has happened once it can happen again."

An LU spokeswoman said: "Safety is our top priority. Almost without precedent the traction current failed to discharge, resulting in the overheating of a short-circuiting device."

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