Woman tells of horrifying moment she was dragged along platform by a train

A woman has described the terrifying moment she was dragged along the platform after getting her hand stuck in the doors of an accelerating train.

Neelan Malik, 60, was going shopping when she dashed to catch the Oxford to London Paddington service as it prepared to leave Hayes and Harlington station.

However, her hand got trapped in the doors as they closed, and to her horror the train then started to leave the station.

“It all happened so quickly. The doors closed but my hand got stuck in the door”, she told Blackfriars crown court on Tuesday.

“I couldn’t pull it out for a long time, it was dragging me along the platform and the train started to move.

“Everyone in the compartment was looking at me through the window.

“It was increasing speed as I was pulling me along. Then my hand came out the door and I banged on the floor on the platform.”

CCTV caught the moment Ms Malik crashed the ground halfway along the platform after struggling free from the accelerating train.

“When I came to my senses there were people around me and the manager on the platform was there”, she added.

“It was an emotional shock. I remember it then all of a sudden I get that emotional feeling. You say to yourself you are very lucky to be alive.

“Just a matter of seconds, if my hand hadn’t come out I would have been off the platform onto the electrical wires or something.”

Ms Malik was treated for bruises on her arm, back and head, and has undergone physiotherapy since the incident, at 1.09pm on July 25, 2015.

Train driver Stephen Murdoch, 45, is now on trial, accused of putting Ms Malik at risk by not checking the train was clear before setting off.

It is said he failed to do basic safety checks, and did not look to see Ms Malik in the onboard train camera.

Prosecutor Adam Pearson told the jury Murdoch is an experienced driver, familiar with a “driver-only” service, who should have seen Ms Malik if he was doing his job properly.

“The prosecution case is the defendant, the driver of that train, if performing his job properly, would have seen that lady trapped in the doors of the train and would not have pulled away”, he said.

“When he failed to do was safety checks to ensure the safety of the passengers on that train.”

Murdoch, of Reading, Berkshire, denies endangering the safety of railway passengers.

He told police after the incident the safety lights had not come on to indicate something jammed in one of the doors, and he checked the CCTV but did not see Ms Malik.

The trial continues.