Effect of station design on death in the London Underground: Observational study

Abstract

Injury and death after a fall or jump under a train (known colloquially as a 'one under') are common on the London Underground. Emergency teams noticed that both severity of injury and survival seemed to be related to the design of the station, with a drainage pit (often called the 'suicide pit') giving a protective effect. This pit is located under the railway tracks for the length of the platform in about half of underground stations. It is usually about a metre deep and was originally intended to drain water away from the platform. We carried out this study to assess mortality in patients hit by London Underground trains at platforms with and without a drainage pit.