Overcrowding at London Bridge railway station during rush hour on Tuesday night resulted in what the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) described as 'life threatening chaos'. Passengers were seen jumping over and crawling under ticket barriers to escape the crush on the concourse and platform.
The disruption was triggered by a person being hit by a train near Streatham Common. Network Rail switched off the power supply to trains between 16:20 and 17:05 GMT to prevent further harm, which had a knock-on effect on other services.
A queuing system was implemented for safety, but demand was so high that the station doors were closed on the advice of transport police and only reopened once crowds inside began to disperse. Network Rail and train operator Southern have said they will review the situation to learn any lessons.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash blamed cuts and lack of capacity, saying: 'The fragmentation and privatisation of our railways leaves train companies and Network Rail blaming each other while passengers and staff are left caught in the kind of life threatening chaos we have seen.' London Mayor Boris Johnson called the scenes 'completely unacceptable' and urged all sides to 'get a grip'.
