Union hits out over unstaffed Tube stations after youth jumps on tracks

A rail union has called for more London Underground stations to be staffed after reporting a near-miss incident involving a young person jumping from the platform on to tracks.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the youth only avoided being hit because of the quick reaction of the driver, who brought his train to an emergency stop at Ruislip in west London.

The union said the incident, on October 20, could have been prevented if the station had been staffed.

General secretary Mick Cash said: "Another day, another unstaffed station, another serious incident. London Underground need to get an urgent grip on unstaffed stations. The appalling station jobs cut programme known as Fit For The Future continues to leave an unsafe legacy of daily unstaffed stations.

"RMT had a major victory in getting 325 jobs back, but unstaffed stations are still a regular occurrence. If stations can't be staffed, they must be closed. It's only a matter of time before a fatality occurs."