Horrified mother is forced to grab her son to stop him plunging onto train tracks after toilet floor on steam train was removed

  • Mother and son were both left shocked and the child suffered minor bruising
  • Incident happened on South Devon Railway steam heritage line on June 22
  • Investigators are looking into why floor panel was removed to expose wheels

By RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

Published: | Updated:

A young boy almost fell to his death through a hole in the floor of a moving tourist train because a panel had been removed.

After opening the door she caught hold of the boy to stop him falling on to the exposed train wheels, according to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

They were both left shocked and the child suffered minor bruising, investigators said.

The young boy nearly fell through the missing panel onto the tracks but was saved at the last second by his mother

The young boy nearly fell through the missing panel onto the tracks but was saved at the last second by his mother

The incident occurred on the South Devon Railway steam heritage line between Staverton and Buckfastleigh on June 22 as the train was travelling at 20 mph.

Workers had removed the flooring in the toilet as they repaired the braking system on the ageing former British Rail carriage.

Staff had placed a notice on the compartment door and attempted to secure it to prevent it being opened, but 'this had not been effective', the RAIB said.

More than 100,000 people visit SDR each year.

A spokesman for the attraction said: 'The South Devon Railway takes this incident extremely seriously in which safety on a moving train was badly compromised and that could have resulted in serious injury to a female passenger and her young son.

'We regret that this incident took place and wish to apologise to the lady and family involved for the trauma which they suffered.'

Workers had removed the flooring in the toilet as they repaired the braking system on the ageing former British Rail carriage

Workers had removed the flooring in the toilet as they repaired the braking system on the ageing former British Rail carriage

He continued: 'Something clearly went wrong with our safety control and hazard monitoring systems as evidenced by the incident having taken place.

'It simply should not have happened.

'As a result, we took steps to check all of our coaches and, subject to RAIB and ORR (Office of Rail and Road) guidance, plan to implement an enhanced and rigorous inspection and monitoring regime for all passenger vehicles for the future.'

The RAIB investigation will examine the events leading up to the incident and the railway's safety management system.  

The incident occurred on the South Devon Railway steam heritage line between Staverton and Buckfastleigh on June 22 as the train was travelling at 20 mph

The incident occurred on the South Devon Railway steam heritage line between Staverton and Buckfastleigh on June 22 as the train was travelling at 20 mph

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