Injured and bereaved people call for answers from TfL after figures show alarming rise in deaths and serious injuries on London transport network

• Sarah de Lagarde, who was struck by two London Underground tube trains resulting in the traumatic amputation of her right arm and right leg. 

• Sally Sivas, next of kin of Catherine Finnegan (known by her family as Kathleen), who tragically lost her life after being hit by a double-decker bus at Victoria Station earlier this year. 

• Sarah Hope MBE, who was involved in an incident with a bus in South London in which her mother was killed, she herself was seriously injured and her 2-year-old daughter lost her leg.  

• Thomas Jervis, partner at law firm Leigh Day who represents Sarah de Lagarde and the family of Catherine Finnegan.  

(Left to right) Thomas Jervis, Sarah de Lagarde, Sally Sivas, Sarah Hope

Data revealed by lawyers at Leigh Day after a Freedom of Information Act request has shown that, on average, on the London Underground there have been over 1,600 incidents a year at the "platform-train interface" over the past decade. This amounts to approximately 133 incidents each month. These include falls from the platform, falls between the train and the platform, contact between a person and a train and persons caught in or struck by train doors, also referred to as “trap and drag incidents”. Figures from the past three years indicates an annual increase in incidents of about 13%. The data was uncovered by Leigh Day in the course of its investigations into the legal cases of Ms de Lagarde and the family of Ms Finnegan.  

The Leigh Day team also analysed TfL’s own figures relating to incidents involving buses which show that in the last three months of 2023-24, 86 people died or were seriously injured in bus collisions. They also show that the number of collisions has increased, post-pandemic, despite buses making fewer journeys. In 2022, the number of people killed or seriously injured as a result of collisions involving buses increased by 15% compared with the 2017-2019 average. When compared with 12 other world cities including New York, Paris, Montreal, London’s buses have consistently been one of the worst performers for collisions. 

At the press conference the three women shared personal stories of what happened to them and their loved ones and how they feel they have been treated by TfL since. Sarah de Lagarde said, having spoken to a number of people affected by tube and bus-related incidents, there was evidence of institutional failings by TfL including: 

• Victim blaming and a defensive approach to incident investigations 

• A lack of empathy or understanding to injured or bereaved people, with apologies being forced out of TfL many years after the event 

• Failures in the way that TfL are regulated 

• A lack of meaningful lessons being learnt and no evidence of improvements being made 

Sarah de Lagarde added: 

“Let me remind everyone that we commuters are paying customers, not just statistics. We are people who rely on TfL's services every day to navigate one of the greatest cities in the world. TfL owes its customers a duty of care and to act responsibly. But instead TfL, we believe, puts profit before people—and as an essential public service, that is absolutely unacceptable.   

“It is time for change. TfL must be held to account, not just for the sake of the commuters who depend on it, but for the safety and well-being of every Londoner. We deserve better.” 

Sally Sivas, Catherine “Kathleen” Finnegan’s next-of-kin told the press conference: 

"Kathleen Finnegan was killed by a London Bus at Victoria Bus Station on the 29th January this year. The following day, the Chair of TfL, Sadiq Khan, was interviewed and questions were asked about this latest fatal bus collision. The Mayor appeared unequivocal in his response; ‘I’ve got no concerns around safety’. Given the alarming statistics of deaths and serious injuries caused by London buses each year and given the fact that Kathleen had only been killed the previous day, this was a ridiculous and insensitive statement for the Chair of TfL to make. As we, her bereaved family, began to come to terms with what had happened to Kathleen, we quickly began to wonder if the tragic loss of a wonderful woman’s life was preventable. TfL should have significant concerns around safety and their failure to adequately address safety issues is unacceptable.”

Sarah Hope worked with TfL to set up the Sarah Hope Line, which offers counselling and practical support after incidents involving serious injury or loss of life on London's transport network. 

Sarah Hope said:

“I need honesty from TfL now. I don't understand why so few people who are injured and bereaved on the TfL network actually receive help from the Sarah Hope Line. I helped to set up the line so that things would change, not stay the same. Please could TfL show me evidence of this, so we can find out why many people do not know about the Sarah Hope Line and the help it offers?  TfL have claimed that ‘following feedback from families they have updated its processes around the way it communicates and contacts the families of those killed and injured in collisions on its network’ but this is not reflected in the numbers of people receiving help in the way TfL have offered -  through the Sarah Hope Line.”

The group called for the following action to address their concerns:   

• urgent government intervention to address the issues raised  

• a statutory duty of candour to be introduced for TfL  

• increased transparency in the reporting and presentation of data by TfL when individuals are killed, injured in any way, or where near misses occur on the TfL network. 

Partner at law firm Leigh Day Thomas Jervis, who represents Sarah de Lagarde and the family of Catherine Finnegan, said: