On this day in 1975, 43 people died and 74 were injured after a train failed to stop at Moorgate station, and crashed into its end wall. It is considered the worst peacetime accident on the London Underground.
No fault was found with the train, and the inquiry concluded that the accident was caused by the actions of the 56-year-old driver in that the brakes were not applied and the dead man's handle was still depressed when the train crashed.
In the aftermath of the crash, London Underground introduced a safety system that automatically stops a train when travelling too fast. This became known informally as Moorgate protection.
A cause has never been established, and theories include suicide, that he may have been distracted, or that he was affected by medical conditions causing memory loss or illness.
In the light of today’s modern accident investigation methods and understanding of human factors one wonders whether or not risks associated with situation awareness, stress, fatigue etc. contributed to the incident.
Working to prevent such incidents is why Gauged Solutions are passionate about what we do.