Heartstopping moment man is nearly dragged to his death under train at station as warning issued to Christmas travellers
This is the heartbreaking moment a man is swept away by an oncoming train at a busy London station.
The shocking CCTV footage, released by Govia Thameslink, shows a man standing on a platform in London Blackfriars.
It is located dangerously close to the tracks and well beyond the yellow line – where passengers must stay off the tracks for their own safety.
As the train pulls into the station, the man is knocked over by the carriage and nearly swept onto the tracks.
Instead, the train appears to clip his feet, causing the man to spin around before fellow passengers rush to help the man as the clip ends abruptly.
It comes as commuters across the country are being urged to take extra care this festive period, following a year-on-year rise in accidents compared to last Christmas.
According to Thameslink – which operates Britain’s largest rail network – Thursday, December 12 saw the highest number of passengers since pre-pandemic. This represented an increase of 36 percent.
That increase includes an increase in trips, slips and falls since last winter, with intoxication believed to be a contributing factor.
In the shocking CCTV footage, released by Govia Thameslink, a man can be seen standing on a platform at London Blackfriars, where he is dangerously close to the track.
As the train pulls into the station, the man is knocked over by the carriage and nearly swept onto the tracks.
Instead, the train appears to clip his feet, causing the man to spin around before fellow passengers can be seen running to help the man before the clip ends abruptly.
London Victoria – where as many as 50 million passengers passed through ticket barriers last year – and Gatwick Airport had the highest number of injuries.
According to Thameslink, Stevenage in Hertfordshire is the most dangerous station for accidents on their network.
Samantha Facey, Health Safety & Security Director at Thameslink and Great Northern, said: ‘We are already seeing increased passenger numbers due to the festive season, and while our staff are on site to help, it is important that people do their bit to protect themselves.
‘We had over 150 slips, trips and falls on the railway last winter and these can be extremely dangerous on the railway.
‘Allow plenty of time to travel so you don’t have to run in front of a train and always stay behind the yellow safety line to protect yourself and other travellers.
‘Following these simple steps will help you get home safely this Christmas.’
The warnings come just over a month after former Home Secretary David Blunkett was injured after falling into the platform hole while trying to board the Tube.
David Blunkett, a Labor peer and former home secretary, said he was boarding a District line train on the Westminster Tube last month with his seeing-eye dog (pictured with Barley) when his feet slipped
Network Rail recently took to X to warn the public to stay alert at junctions and posted a horrific compilation of incidents where people narrowly avoided being hit
Mr Blunkett, who is blind, required hospital treatment due to ‘excruciating pain’ in his legs and branded some platforms as ‘death traps’.
The former Home Secretary and Labor peer said he was boarding a District Line train at Westminster with his seeing-eye dog when the accident occurred.
He said: ‘As I took a step to get on the train I felt my feet disappear through the gap.
‘In an instant my body was thrown into the carriage and I lay face down on the ground. My legs had somehow been scraped out of the hole in the carriage.’
‘I didn’t quite know what had happened. I felt tremendous pain in both my legs; they were bruised and scraped,” he continued.
The 77-year-old is calling on TfL to make an effort to fill the biggest gaps on platforms and ensure there is always someone to help, especially during rush hour.
He added: “Some of our platforms are death traps. The gap between the walkway and the train is enormous and they are unsafe for everyone, but especially for the blind.”
Meanwhile, Network Rail recently took to
More footage showed a truck trying to cross when the barrier came down, but got caught on the back of the vehicle and was dragged along the tracks
In one video, a young man and woman walked along a track with a lowered safety barrier before halfway noticing a train approaching.
They then sprinted to the other side with just two seconds left.
In another video of a similar crossing, a cyclist attempted to cross when the barrier began to lower, but collided with another cyclist coming from the opposite direction.
In the third video, a dog walker started to cross a more rural train track, but their pet resisted and when the man saw the train coming, he immediately turned back.
More footage showed a truck trying to cross when the barrier came down, but it got caught on the back of the vehicle and was dragged along the tracks.
The fifth clip showed a reckless group clinging to barriers as they went up and down an intersection.
In another near miss, a man and a woman climbed over a fence and one sprinted to the other side
In another near miss, a man and a woman climbed over a fence and one sprinted across the track.
The other stuck and just seconds later a high-speed train roared past.
In one of Network Rail’s videos, a cyclist rode his bike along some tracks before stopping in the middle and staring at the incoming train.
They then casually strolled along before the train rushed past where they had been standing a few seconds earlier.