Clapham Junction most dangerous station - passenger

Giuliana Rossi was on her way to see A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic when the incident happened on 15 November 2023.

Boarding a train at platform 10 at Clapham Junction station, she misjudged the big gap between the train and the platform.

She caught her foot and fell into the carriage breaking her leg in two places and damaging her shoulder.

"One minute I was standing, the next minute I fell," she said.

"Normally on trains you have that little lip to assist the boarding but this train didn't have that.

"It was approximately a foot, even more, of an incline, together with the same width of the gap."

The repercussions for Giuliana Rossi were very serious.

Her injuries meant she needed to have two plates inserted in her knee.

Giuliana spent a month in hospital and even now still walks with a stick. She is still doing physiotherapy.

She is very clear and blames the big gap between the train and the platform.

"The railway system in our country is at fault.

"I found the gap instead of minding the gap. We need to do something to make our railways safe.

"The railway systems here are antiquated. We have 19th Century infrastructure in the 21st Century. It is time we got to grips with this."

Giuliana says there were no announcements warning passengers to mind the gap and the signage was worn down.

"There were no warnings. There was no announcements. Signage on the floor on the platform was very, very worn out. It wasn't visible. It just had patterns painted on in yellow but there was no mind the gap signs."

She says she has had no apology or redress from the train company South Western Railway or Network Rail which owns the platform.

She is angry and upset that the transport system is dangerous and calls Clapham Junction the most dangerous station in the country for platform gaps.

She has tried to take legal action but has been told by solicitors that the chances of success would be slim.

She says someone else will be seriously hurt at Clapham Junction: "I'm not an engineer, but I'm sure in the 21st Century we can come up with something.

"Someone else will definitely be injured if we don't fix it.

"I'm very angry as this shouldn't have happened. I hadn't even had a drink. It's crazy."

When I asked her if she thought Clapham Junction was one of the most dangerous stations in the country, she replied: "Definitely."

Figures from Network Rail showed that 20.7 million people arrive or leave the station every year, and a further 19 million use it to change trains.

It added that during 2022-23 there were 29 injuries at the station.

Network Rail said it had apologised to Ms Rossi.

It added: "We’re very much aware of the large gaps between trains and some of the station platforms at Clapham Junction and at other stations across the region.

"We manage this alongside our Train Operating Companies via passenger information such as mind the gap signage and announcements and mobility assistance can also be requested if required.

"We are starting to develop a plan for the station which would seek to address the worst platforms in the future but no dates have been set and funding is yet to be identified.

"In the interim period, if any platforms require significant repairs, we will look to utilise this opportunity to lessen the gap where possible."

South Western Railway (SWR) said: "The safety of our customers is always our number one priority, so we were sorry to hear that Ms Rossi suffered injuries while boarding a train at Clapham Junction station in November.

"Following the incident, our safety teams carried out a full investigation, which involved an examination of CCTV footage, witness statements and Ms Rossi’s own briefing to Clapham Junction's dedicated team of paramedics, who attended around five minutes after the incident.

"Our investigation concluded that, while running to join a customer ahead of her, Ms Rossi unfortunately tripped and fell.

"There is no evidence to suggest that the gap between the train and the platform played a role in this incident, and it is also worth noting that the train was not being dispatched at the time.

"Our colleagues at Clapham Junction helped Ms Rossi to leave the station and provided her with a taxi to a nearby hospital. Network Rail subsequently contacted Ms Rossi on two occasions, which included an apology.

"We hope Ms Rossi is recovering well from the incident."

In response to the statements from Network Rail and SWR, Mrs Rossi confirmed that she had not received any apology from either organisation.

She said any suggestion that she was running was incorrect, and that the paramedic's incident report said she was "rushing" not running, and the issue was not only the horizontal gap but the vertical height of the gap to the train.

Mrs Rossi added that neither she or her husband were interviewed by SWR during the train company's investigation.

Safety guidance says new platforms should not have a horizontal gap larger than 27.5cm (10.8in) or a vertical gap of more than 23cm (9in).

However, Rail Safety and Standards Board rules only apply to new stations, so Ealing Broadway as an older platform does not fall under the regulations. The rules do not apply.

Giuliana Rossi contacted BBC London as she wanted to highlight the issue. Three passengers contacted the BBC after being seriously injured using the Elizabeth line at Ealing Broadway in west London.

Lucy Daramola told BBC London she was knocked unconscious and hospitalised after cutting her shins getting on the train in July 2022. She blames the height of the gap and says someone could be killed at the location.

Two other passengers have been seriously injured at the same place on platform four.

Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail, which owns the platforms, have both said they are "sorry" some passengers have sustained injuries and that safety is their "priority". They say they are reviewing what can be done to reduce the gap.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]