According to the Bolton Evening News, a man was struck by a train at Walkden on the evening of Friday 19th June.
We understand the injuries sustained were serious but not fatal.
The cause of the accident is not known, nor whether the large platform gap was a contributing factor.
FOWS recently received this “Open Letter to Rail users boarding Manchester bound trains at Walkden Station in the morning”.
The author’s central point is valid … it’s courteous and common-sense to let people off the train before trying to board. Of course Walkden’s not the only place where this happens, but let’s see if we can make an improvement (before anyone gets injured !)
Dear FOWS
Every morning I drive the short journey from home to Pemberton near Wigan where I get the train to Walkden. When I get on the train I politely stand away from the doors to let people off the train before I get on. Treat others as you would have them treat yourselves. People from where I come from do small things that; It goes a long way.
When arriving at Walkden station, & attempting to leave the train, I have given up politely asking “excuse me” to the groups of people on the platform who ignorantly crowd around the doors, making it so difficult for other people off the train first. I have given up saying “Excuse me!!” in a slightly forced aggravated tone of voice at the jobsworth businessmen who stand directly infront of the doors, completely blocking the path of people getting off the train because they are late for their sales meeting & desparate to get a seat so they can have a loud work related mobile phone conversation for the entire duration of their journey. I have thought long and hard about saying “excuse me – I have just broken wind!” in order to get a clean exit from the train without people blocking my path. I have even considered strapping on a parachute & exiting the train mid-journey becaue that is the type of guy I am. Failing all other options, I press the button marked “open”, put my head down, brace myself, & walk. Pick up speed and just walk forward. They soon move out of the way. No doubt I shall let you know how my game of human skittles progresses.
I just wish to pass on the message to people from Walkden that **IT IS COMMON COURTESY & SIMPLE HUMAN POLITELNESS TO LET PEOPLE OFF THE TRAIN BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO GET ON!!**
Congratulations to Merseyrail who have just become the first UK rail company to achieve “Secure Station” status for all stations on their network. This is a tremendous achievement - something people said couldn’t be done, but that has been achieved in just 4 years.
Secure station status means the station has CCTV and a variety of other design features and facilities intended to make the station as safe a place as possible for people to wait.
As users of the Northern Rail network around Manchester will be only too keenly aware, Northern Rail’s own efforts to improve station security lag some considerable way behind Merseyrail’s achievement. Even today no date has been set for installation of CCTV at Walkden.
Read more about Merseyrail’s success on their website News page.
You may have seen the parents of Simon Slade interviewed on TV recently on the second anniversary of their son’s death at Gidea Park station. Simon, a fit, young Police Scene of Crime officer fell between the platform and train and lay unconcious on the track for 45 minutes before he was noticed – tragically it was too late to save his life by then.
The family have set up a safety campaign – Mind That Gap - to try and force the government and rail authorities to take the issue more seriously. It’s thought that 2 people died nationally as a result of similar accidents in 2008.
FOWS are aware of at least 2 incidents of passengers falling between the train and platform at Walkden in the last few years. Thankfully neither resulted in a fatality but the risk is there for all too see – except that is the railway safety bodies who insist that nothing can affordably be done.
FOWS deplore the attitude which continues to put passengers – particularly the frail and elderly – at risk. After our campaign to have the platform raised or tracks lowered failed, Northern Rail did at least promise to paint warnings on the platform edge, but one year one not even this has been done.
This week’s RAIL magazine reports that a new technology is being Harrington station in Cumbria to address the problem of platforms with very large gaps between platform and train height. The trial uses a reinforced plastic “hump” which can be attached to the platform to assist access on to and off of trains.
The story is also covered on Cumbria’s local council website.
Crucially in this cash-strapped age, Network Rail hope that if the trial is successful the technology may enable a platform to be modified for around £25,000 – that’s just 10% of the cost of raising a low platform using traditional building means.
Our friends at Northern Rail have moved quickly to paint out the recent graffiti at the station, and replacement poster cases are on the way for the ones smashed in the station entrance hall.
FOWS thank Northern for their rapid response, and repeat our appeal for any passengers witnessing anti-social behaviour at the station to call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40.
Together we can make the station a safe and smart place for local people to catch the train !
For the past year FOWS have been campaigning for Network Rail to address the dangerously large gap between the platform edge and train doorways at Walkden. The unusually high and wide step has seen several people slip terrifyingly between platform and train over the past few years, and presents a massive barrier to elderly, disabled, or mobility impaired passengers.
Network Rail have acknowledged that the ‘stepping distance’ at Walkden is outside current safety standards, but say they don’t have to fix it as it’s an historic problem they’ve inherited.
After Network Rail’s refusal to act FOWS turned to the government’s rail watchdog - the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Our first letter was met with a standard reply suggesting there are many stations around the country in a similar condition. We wrote again to stress exactly how large the gaps was at Walkden (it has been measured at 17 inches) and the fact that people have fallen onto the track on several occasions.
Our second letter prompted a site visit by the local safety inspectorate who – amazingly – classified the risk as ‘low’ on one platform and ‘medium’ on the other. On the basis of this the only action is planned is painting ‘Mind the gap’ on the platform and continuing the ‘low platform’ announcements on trains. While these measures may marginally mitigate the risk of an accident, they do nothing at all to help those passengers who struggle to – or simply cannot – board or disembark from trains because of the high step.
We urge all passengers affected by this problem to write to Customer Services at Northern Rail. As tenants of Network Rail, they are in the best position to ask for improvements from Network Rail – if enough complaints are received from passengers.
We were alarmed to see the story in yesterday’s Manchester Evening News about a passenger who fell between the platform edge and train at Greenfield station. Thankfully he wasn’t seriously injured but he could easily have been.
FOWS know of at least two similar incidents at Walkden in the last few years and have written to Northern, GMPTE, Network Rail and even the Office of Rail Regulation to ask for the platform to be raised. The official line seems to be that Network Rail are responsible for maintaining safe stations – but have no obligation to remedy this problem (which they acknowledge exists) until “other station improvements” are planned.
FOWS believe this is an irresponsible attitude which presents passengers with a dangerous and uncomfortable challenge when they board or alight the train.
