A train driver was declared a hero today after he helped prevent a catastrophe when a tunnel was pierced by a huge drill.
The driver of the 10.02 Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City had just gone through Old Street station on Friday when he saw muddy water pouring onto the roof of his train. He raised the alarm and services were halted.
An empty train with another driver and a Network Rail manager were sent to investigate. As they neared the point from which the water was gushing, a piling drill from the building site above the tunnel broke through the roof and crashed onto the line.
The driver told the control room: “There was a tremendous amount of flashing... like a huge Roman candle.”
A senior rail source said: “If that drill had hit a crowded train the consequences do not bear thinking about. There could have been serious loss of life.” Neal Lawson, managing director of train operator First Capital Connect, said: “This could have ended very differently had it not been for the vigilance and prompt actions of our drivers.
“We carry two million passengers a year on the Northern City line [from Moorgate] and whoever is responsible for this must be held to account.”
British Transport Police visited an office construction site above the tunnel. The construction is not connected to any work on the railway. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has been notified. Engineers from Network Rail worked around the clock to seal the roof with a metre-thick concrete plug.
The tracks had been flooded, causing electrics and signals to fail. Services resumed today but the signals failed again and many trains were diverted to King’s Cross during morning rush-hour. Disruption to services is expected to last all day. Tonight engineers will resume pumping out water and mud.
In 1975, Moorgate was the scene of the single worst accident on the Undergound, when a Tube train crashed into the end of a tunnel, killing 44.
