Banbury: Baby suffered head injury after pram hit by train

A report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said that as the train pulled into Banbury Station on the afternoon of June 8, the parent momentarily let go of the pram to collect a nearby suitcase. 

The pram, carrying a two-month-old baby, rolled towards the platform edge and collided with the train as passengers watched on. 

The report stated that despite the parent trying to intervene at the last second, the pram collided with the train, causing the pram to spin and tip over and resulting in the infant "falling from the pram onto the platform surface".

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The collision occurred while the train was moving at an estimated 35mph and the infant sustained a minor head injury as a result.

CCTV footage from Chiltern Railways from Banbury station shows the pram and train moments before the accident occurred.

The RAIB said it has been unable to determine why the infant’s parent momentarily let go of the unbraked pram.

The RAIB said: "The small degree of slope present is unlikely to have been apparent to the infant’s parent, who possibly became momentarily distracted while unaware of the hazard created by the slope."

CCTV footage showing the locations of the signs on platform 2 (yellow ellipses) near where the accident occurred. The red dashed ellipse shows the approximate position of the pram 15 seconds before the accident. Inset image shows an example of the signage present (Image: Chiltern Railways) The RAIB found that the location where the accident occurred had warning signage on the platform surface, in dark blue and white colour, stating "Sloping Platform Apply Brakes".

It also found that a station announcement was made when the parent was standing on the platform, stating: "Passengers are reminded to keep hold of all personal belongings at all times and ensure that prams, buggies and wheelchairs have their brakes applied while stationary on station platforms as fast trains could cause wind turbulence when passing through."

However, it found that the design of the signage was "less likely to alert pram users to the hazard", as it "did not comply" with the general design language and associated regulations that are used to convey safety related information.

The RAIB said: "Following the accident, Chiltern Railways installed signage in the customer lifts at Banbury station in addition to reviewing the signage on the platform surface.

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"The signage installed in the lifts draws the attention of passengers to aerodynamic risk from passing trains to passengers on the platform."

However, it added this "does not highlight the risk from platform crossfall slopes".

"Despite this, the instructions provided to passengers in this signage include appropriate actions to help prevent similar accidents - to the one that occurred at Banbury station - from reoccurring," it concluded.

In 2018, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) published research which identified that pushchair users had low awareness of the presence of, and risks associated with, the slope from the rear of the platform to the platform edge when looking along the length of the platform, on station platforms.

The research found that less severe crossfall gradients can pose a considerable risk, because the slopes involved are not immediately apparent and can be harder to perceive.