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Your support makes all the difference.The crowded Tube train which derailed at Chancery Lane station yesterday injuring 32 people,may have crashed because of a fault with its motor, London Underground said today.
The 10-year-old fleet of 85 Central Line trains were modified in recent years following problems with the motors. But it is now thought that similar problems could have caused the smash in Chancery Lane.
Leader of the union of rail, maritime and transport workers (RMT), Bob Crow, had alleged that a motor block, which powers the train, had fallen on to the track. He also said that the driver had reported a fault with the train at Leytonstone, 15 minutes before the accident. The whole of the Central Line fleet of trains has now been withdrawn from service for safety checks and services may not be resumed until Tuesday.
The accident happened at 1.54pm, when the last three carriages of an eight-car train left the tracks and, after hitting the tunnel, apparently rebounded on to the platform at Chancery Lane.
About 800 passengers were taken off the train. Thirty-two casualties were taken to St Thomas' Hospital, Royal London and University College Hospital. Most had minor injuries. The crash victims said there was panic as the train doors jammed shut or were ripped off at the moment of impact, and the train was plunged into darkness.
James Murray, 28, said: "I could hear there was something wrong with the train. The wheel underneath my carriage was making a hell of a noise, there was a weird rumbling noise ... There was an enormous bang and the lights went off. People were screaming and shouting and crying ... I thought, 'This is it.'"
London Underground (LU) said today that inspections were carried out on the motors every five days, since modifications were made. But an inspection that took place just two days before the accident failed to pick-up any faults.
A LU spokesman said: "We have had problems with the motors of these trains before they were modified in recent years.
"Each train is inspected every five days for that particular problem, as well as the routine check that takes place every morning.
"Yesterday's train had been checked for that particular problem two days before and there were no problems. It now seems that problems with the motor was a possible cause of the accident.
"How and why that might have caused a problem we have yet to investigate," he said.
LU said a driver could decide not to drive a train for safety reasons.
"Drivers are responsible for their train and they can say they're not going to drive the train if they think there's a problem," the spokesman said.
London Underground is carrying out an investigation into the crash, including a review of any discussions between the train driver and Central Line control.
It warned that the whole Central Line could be closed until Tuesday.
The train - delivered to LU in 1994 - was coming from the Liverpool Street area to the West End and the rear three carriages had derailed and partially mounted the platform.
The whole of the Central Line fleet has been withdrawn from service for safety checks. A spokesman added that it was purely as a precaution and so the company could be "safe and sure".
Bombardier, which built the train that derailed, defended its safety record, despite the concerns raised by the RMT and said it would not speculate on the circumstances of the accident.
Spokesman Neil Harvey said: "We designed and built the trains but we do not maintain them or work on them. Day-to-day running is under London Underground's control."
He said the consignment of trains "have been running for 10 to 12 years now. There has been no major safety concerns as far as I know".
The train that derailed was built by ABB in the early 1990s. ABB later became ADtranz, which was then taken over by Bombardier.
The incident – the worst since the fire at King's Cross in 1987 in which more than 70 people died – is certain to renew fears about safety on the Tube system. Underground managers recently admitted in a leaked report that an incident 18 months ago, in which thousands of passengers were trapped in the summer heat, "could have been disastrous".
The political ramifications are also huge. The Conservatives have issued repeated warnings about safety on the Tube and the heavily criticised public-private partnership, which hands over responsibility for maintenance to private contractors, effectively separating the track from operations, is just two weeks old although the stretch of track concerned yesterday was managed by London Underground's own maintenance company.
The Liberal Democrat London transport spokesman Tom Brake urged the authorities to "reassure" the public that safety measures had taken into account the increased numbers likely to use the Tube after congestion charges are introduced on 17 February.
Yesterday's accident is also certain to intensify public anxiety about safety, already at a high pitch after reports of a thwarted poison gas attack on the Tube.
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