What If This Accident Had Never Happened on the London Underground?

In 2022, a commuter fell into the gap between a train and the platform on the Northern Line of the London Underground, United Kingdom.
The passenger became trapped beneath the train and suffered catastrophic injuries, resulting in the loss of both an arm and a leg.

The incident later became the subject of a High Court compensation case, drawing national attention to platform gap safety on one of the world’s oldest metro systems.

This was not a minor accident.
It was a life-altering event with long-term human, legal, and institutional consequences.

Source: London Evening Standard –
“Sarah de Lagarde: TfL commuter injured after falling into platform gap seeks High Court compensation”

What If a Platform Gap Filler Had Been Installed?

What if the physical gap between the train and the platform had been closed—before the train doors opened?

With a Platform Gap Filler installed:

  • The boarding interface would have been continuous

  • A fall into the track area would have been physically prevented

  • The incident would likely never have progressed beyond a routine boarding movement

No warning sign or announcement can compensate for an unprotected gap.
Only engineering controls can eliminate it.