Mile End rail Crash - RAIB report published.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) have published their Derailment of a London Underground Central Line train near Mile End station 5th July 2007

At 09:01 hrs on 5 July 2007 westbound Central Line train 117 struck a roll of fire resistant material lying on the track in the tunnel between Mile End and Bethnal Green tube stations nd Network. In consequence three bogies were derailed. Thetrain operator applied the emergency brake and the train stopped after approximately148 m (468 ft).

Twenty passengers received medical treatment one had a broken ankle. Five hundred and twenty people were evacuated along the running tunnels to Mile End station from the incident train.

The cause of the accident was the dislodging of a fire resistant blanket which had migrated by wind onto the track - 7 similiar incidents of stored materials had ocurred in the 2006/7 where stored materials hit trains....storage bins, bin lids, plastic bucket and water butt and plywood sheets apparently dislodged by wind movements. These had been the cause of criticim by Bob Crowe and the RMT before the Mile End crash when reservations had been expressed about trackside management.

Tests by Metronet show that a force of a force of approximately 64 kg could be generated by a wind speed of 60 mph (96 km/h).(Mile End Station, Cross Passage Air Velocity. Issued by 4-Rail Services LtdReport No: 4RS-AJB-070449-R174401)

Paradoxically the fire blanket had been used (quite needlessly and not very safely ) to cover paper sacks of Tecroc fast setting cement, because, post King's Cross paper was seen as a fire hazard. The RAIB says , "The underlying cause was the lack of a comprehensive risk analysis being performed to support the use of fire-resistant blankets. "

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said at the time, that it was the fourth incident in 18 months in the same area where private contractors were operating.He said, “This union has raised concerns over the bad storage of equipment by contractors in this area and wrote to London Underground back in April demanding an investigation, yet nothing has been done.

Since the accident, Metronet has gone into administration and everyone involved is sat round scratching their heads wondering how they move forward on the massive £13 Bn. regeneration of the Underground's infrastructure... much of it vital for pnning for the 2012 Olympics ...and who is going to pay for it.

Bob Crowe responded to the House of Commons' Transport Select Committee's report last week on the Metronet collapse..." "Metronet's shareholders have stuck two fingers up at the people of London, and it is time to return the compliment. If any of them stands in the way of transferring the Metronet contracts back to the public sector they should be told to get on their bikes."