Media centre

Monday 17 Sep 2018

Paddington Station 24/7 – Trains put on hold as man runs a mile along track after ducking ticket gates

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

The second series of the behind the scenes documentary Paddington Station 24/7 continues on Monday 17 September, as trains in and out of the station are put on hold when a trespasser is seen running along the tracks.

The eight-part first series achieved a consistently high audience share for the Monday 9pm slot, averaging 1.3 million viewers per episode. The first half of series two, screened between March and June, was an equally big hit, with at least one million viewers tuning in for the first eight episodes. 

The series follows railway workers on the Great Western Main Line as they deal with the biggest modernisation of the line for generations, major incidents which are causing disruption on the railway, huge sporting events, as well as the day-to-day challenge of running one of Britain’s busiest stations.

This week, one of the station’s 403 CCTV cameras catches a man running down the tracks on platforms nine and ten, prompting rail staff to halt services to and from London Paddington as British Transport Police (BTP) seek to apprehend the male.  

Richard Douglas, Paddington station control assistant for Network Rail, arrives on shift just as the man starts running down the tracks. He said: “Immediately I knew the seriousness of the unfolding situation and realised the importance of getting members of the public away from the end of the platform as this could deter the man from heading back towards the station, or worse, spook him into trying to cross the live underground lines at Royal Oak.

“Despite a situation that had the potential to end in tragedy, it was testament to our training that we managed to prevent injury or loss of life whilst minimising the impact upon the railway. It was a relief to see our colleagues from the British Transport Police arrive so quickly and give chase”.

BTP officers manage to catch up with the man almost a mile down the tracks, just before he reached the electrified line outside of Royal Oak underground station. If he had stepped onto this section of the track, the outcome could have been very different.

Trespassing on the railway involves significant risks, including being hit by a train travelling at 125mph and being electrocuted with 25,000 volts of electricity from the overhead wires or third rail. Such incidents are a major concern for the railway, with 8,758 reports of trespassers made last year, an increase of 15% over the previous 12 months.

If you see someone trespassing on the railway, please call the BTP on 0800 40 50 40, or send a text to 61016.