This morning I was running a bit late for work, so I practically ran to the station and down the escalator; there was a train to Charing Cross in the platform so I jumped in the nearest carriage, and it was fairly empty for most of the journey. I managed to hop off the train without having to squeeze past people on the train for the door although there were still more people on the platforms than there was going to be room on the train. Very briskly walked to work (its about a 10min walk at normal pace), arriving at work just on time (my work starts at 8am), and then later in the day I saw this as the headline on the BBC News Website:
Woman 'dragged' under Tube train at Clapham South station
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-31848111
This occurred at 8am - not very long after I was in the Clapham South station, for all I know I could have passed the lady either on the platform or as I went up the escalators or heading out the entrance. I don't think it was my train that ran the lady over, it would have been the following train or the one after but had I not run to South Wimbledon and jumped on that Charing Cross service, chances are I would have been on that train that ran her over or stuck on the train that was following. Still its a scary thought that I could have witnessed, or seen a part of this terrible accident - although luckily, the lady was okay.
Still, a little bit scary - for the Arsenal game I went to with Jeremy and Rachel the other week, Rachel mentioned she went to get on a crowded train but decided it was too full and would wait for the next one, only to be shoved from behind onto the train along with some other people. Not hard for something to go nastily wrong when that sort of thing happens. As it was that day, I got off at Holloway Road before they closed the station (which they typically do on game days) and it was very much chocka-block - as was Finsbury Park when I went to go home. The designs of the station are fairly rudimentary but what are you going to do? you can't make the platforms any bigger, and besides only so many people can fit on a train at a time; you can't make the trains any bigger, both in size or length; you can't make them any more frequent at peak times as they're already at capacity. Do you limit the amount of people that can pass through the Oyster gates onto the platforms at a time? how do you control that, given people can access more than one platform and you have no idea how many people are down there at any given time? about the only thing they can do is introduce more of those glass platform edge barriers that have sliding doors which only open when the train doors do. Will they do it? I don't know. But I think I'm going to leave a bit earlier in the mornings just in case from now on, it should be that little bit less crowded too I hope...