Dangerous lack of staff at times of terror attack

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Transport cuts put everyone in danger says today's editorial in the Morning Star

I am starting this as a separate thread since it's a general topic rather that the specifics of Parson's Green - though of course that's top of our mind. (Happy to be merged if we have an old general topic ....)

THE terrorist attack on a train at Parsons Green in London was the latest in a series of sickening attempts to take the lives of innocent people going about their business — an attempt that fortunately failed, though many will bear its scars for the rest of their lives.

As the Morning Star goes to press, it is not clear who was behind the attack. The police who rebuked US President Donald Trump for speculating about it were right: ill-informed guessing games do not keep anyone safe and can easily lead to further harm.

The stories of panic, of people being injured in the crush to escape, can tell us something, however.

Passenger Luke O’Connor praises the “superb” work of Tube staff in getting people out of the station safely: the TSSA^» (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association - about)’s Manuel Cortes is right to salute the “courage and dedication to safety” of London Underground workers. But we also have accounts saying that initially no staff were to be seen: passengers talk of it taking “several minutes” before there was an uncontrolled freefor-all in which people were being trampled as they tried to get out.

[continues]

[ChrisB]

Which wouldn't have been any different if a member of staff or two were on the platform. Right, Morning Star?

[Tim]

I agree with Chris that the injuries are unlikely to have been prevented by extra staff.  I do however think it is a shame that RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) will not be launching an enquiry into the Parsons Green incident because I suspect that if they had treated this as a rail accident they might well have made some recommendations regarding evacuation and emergency exits which although perhaps too costly to be retrofitted could have informed the design standards for new and refurbished stations.   They may also have had something to say about staffing if only to rule it out as a contributory factor in the injuries.