Elizabeth line gap that’s hurt passengers won’t be fixed for another four years
Delays in repairing a 12-inch gap at an Elizabeth line platform have been labelled ‘unacceptable’ after injuries.
Several people have been injured at Ealing Broadway station, west London, because of the vertical gap between Elizabeth line trains and the platform.
At least three passengers have been hurt at the station due to the gap, including serious injuries, Metro understands.
Lucy Daramola said she was knocked unconscious after tripping over the gap last summer, BBC News reported.
Commuters have eagerly waited for repairs, but now Network Rail has said they won’t happen for another four years.
‘It’s a matter of dignity and respect’
Network Rail, the owner of UK’s rail infrastructure and most stations, said it doesn’t currently have funding ‘to carry out improvements to the platforms at Ealing Broadway.’
The next funding opportunity will commence in April 2029 when the track could be lowered as part of wider track renewal, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan revealed at the London Assembly.
Mr Khan apologised to the injured passengers last summer after the string of accidents.
‘For over a year we have had commuters, in particular more vulnerable commuters, who have had problems with the significant gap on one of the platforms on the Elizabeth line,’ Bassam Mahfouz, the London Assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon, told Metro.
He said some solutions were needed in the meantime as ‘it’s too big of an issue to leave for that period of time’ and that he has been ‘contacted by people who have anxiety because of this.’
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‘The problem is that the gap is too big for many elderly and young commuters. We have had serious accidents at that location,’ he said.
One of the injured people was four-year-old Agamjot Kaur, who fell between the train and the platform last summer, leaving her unable to walk for days, the Standard reported.
While there have been ‘immediate improvements’ by TfL and MTR such as extra staffing and announcements, it is now ‘time for Network Rail to step up and do their bit,’ Mahfouz said.
Accessibility across stations is a ‘matter of dignity and respect’ for residents, he added.
Campaigners from Transport for All said the ‘chasm between the station and the platform at Ealing Broadway blocks many of us, as disabled people, from being able to travel.’
What is being done in the meantime to stop accidents?
More staff, signage and announcements on trains and platforms have been put in place by the Elizabeth line operator MTR, TfL said.
Network Rail said it has worked with MTR to come up with solutions, including installing a new barrier to ‘enhance the management of passenger flow and the extension of a handrail.’
A Network Rail spokesperson said: ‘Although we are not currently funded to carry out improvements to the platforms at Ealing Broadway, we are in the process of developing options to improve safety at the station with our partners at TfL and MTR Elizabeth line.
‘These options are being discussed with our partners as part of our joint safety improvement plan.’
Howard Smith, TfL’s director of the Elizabeth line, said TfL is working with Network Rail to ‘deliver improvements that would permanently reduce the gap between the train and platform.’
He said Network Rail’s feasibility work showed the ‘most promising solution is to lower the track.’
A spokesperson told Metro it is ‘unacceptable’ that the repairs will take Network Rail ‘nearly half a decade’ to fix ‘their dangerous mess.’
Josh Hughes, a partner at law firm Bolt Budon Kemp, told Metro the’delay to the safety works is simply unacceptable.’
He warned that a further delay in fixing the gap could mean ‘significantly more people injured’ and there could be personal injury litigation, which could be ‘costly for Network Rail.’
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