Action needed after man hit by Tube, warns coroner

A coroner has warned that Sir Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL) must take action to prevent future deaths after a man was struck by seven Jubilee line trains at an Underground station.

Brian Mitchell, 72, was killed by a train terminating at Stratford on 26 December 2023. The emergency brakes were not applied by any of the four incoming train operators, the inquest into his death heard.

Mitchell had spent almost an hour at the end of the platform before he fell on to the track. He had 272mg of alcohol in his system, more than three times the legal driving limit.

TfL said it was "taking action to prevent incidents like this from happening again". Sir Sadiq was contacted for comment.

In his report, senior coroner Graeme Irvine said that in the two years since Mitchell's death, "there is no clear evidence to demonstrate that risks of fatal harm have been mitigated".

He said: "Recommended technological measures to detect and alert staff to the presence of persons on the tracks have not been implemented at Stratford station."

Irvine added that there was no clear data available to demonstrate that train operator and station staff training had improved performance in emergency circumstances.

He concluded in his report to Sir Sadiq, TfL and the Department for Transport: "In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action."

Claire Mann, TfL's chief operating officer, said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr Mitchell, who sadly died at Stratford Tube station.

"We are committed to learning from this tragic incident and assisted the coroner during the inquest.

"We will respond to the coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report and are taking action to prevent incidents like this from happening again. "

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