There’s a point at which ineptitude goes from irksome to downright dangerous, and ScotRail blew past that point in Dundee long ago.
Last January, The Courier highlighted two incidents which had left passengers injured and shaken due to the unusually large gap between the train and the platform.
The response from the rail operator back then was pathetic; a reminder of continuous, automated safety “warnings” and an assurance that station staff are available to help those who need assistance embarking and disembarking.
As long as passengers anticipate the unusual gap at Dundee station and phone ahead to request said assistance, of course.
Otherwise you’re on your own, as there are no staff routinely on hand.
Clearly, such a lukewarm response meant this notorious gap would remain an accident waiting to happen.
And now it’s happened. Again.
Grandmother injured
Pensioner Janet Bellis was hospitalised with “life-changing” injuries after she fell down the gap between the train and the platform while trying to disembark at Dundee.
The 68-year-old was travelling from Wales, where she lives, to Carnoustie to attend her grandchild’s christening.
She had navigated all her other travel that day without any need for assistance. Until Dundee, where her train – and her life as she knew it – terminated.
The deep, wide drop to the platform, lack of handles available and her lack of psychic abilities to foresee such conditions meant Janet lost her balance and fell right on to the tracks.
Paramedics had to rescue her and she was found to have suffered five broken ribs, a fractured femur and a punctured lung.
This didn’t just ruin what should have been a special memory for one grandmother; it has set her on a long, painful path to recovery.
And the salt in the wound?
This accident was entirely preventable, because near-misses had been reported several times before.
Janet contacted The Courier from hospital this week after reading several of our articles on the issue.
Will ScotRail ever give a straight answer?
Last year, I was asking myself: Will it take someone getting really badly hurt before the rail operator addresses this?
That would have been awful enough, but the truth is far worse.
As it turns out, even Janet’s life-threatening fall is not enough to make ScotRail sit up and take responsibility.
Our Dundee Area Editor Laura Devlin put a list of simple questions to ScotRail in the wake of Janet’s fall, to ascertain what action could or would be taken.
And ScotRail had the audacity to look at Janet’s incident and entirely snub The Courier and the public’s calls to implement more safety measures.
Their responses are disturbingly robotic, reiterating the presence of automated “mind the gap” reminders, and putting the onus once again on travellers to call ahead if they might need assistance.
The platform height would have to be changed by Network Rail, they say.
But the organisation responsible for railway infrastructure in Scotland, England and Wales says on its website: “Unfortunately we can’t reduce the gaps between trains and platforms.
“There are 2,500 stations in Britain built to varying specifications over the last 200 years, and there are many different designs of trains too. Take extra care and mind the gap.”
Network Rail have yet to respond to The Courier’s request for comment on the latest Dundee incident.
What could ScotRail do to help passengers at Dundee platforms?
The lack of common sense isn’t just infuriating, it’s wilfully callous.
There are measures which could be taken here, which don’t involve digging up train platforms, such as:
- Alerts could be added to ticket purchases, letting people know in advance that Dundee has unusually large gaps and therefore they might want to arrange assistance.
- Announcements from the conductor while approaching Dundee could encourage passengers to disembark only from certain carriages where the gap is minimised.
- Staff could be stationed on the platform to give proactive help to travellers.
- Handrails could be installed at intervals along the platform to assist boarding.
- Trains could be fitted with easy-to-use ramps at each door which could be deployed by passengers who see the gap and realise it’s too big for them to manage.
But for any of these extremely simple (and possibly life-saving) measures to be implemented, ScotRail would first have to acknowledge that there’s a problem to be addressed.
That would require the organisation to demonstrate even one iota of integrity and responsibility.
“The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority,” according to David Lister, safety director at ScotRail.
If that was true, immediate action would be taken at Dundee station.
The gap between the train and the platform is no longer just an accident waiting to happen.
It’s the negligent allowance of continued risk to life.
Conversation