Tube terrorism: the aftermath

The aftermath of July’s terror attacks on the oldest metro system in the world saw Metronet Rail, Tube Lines and London Underground working around the clock to get services up and running again for three million daily Tube commuters. Alison Hammond investigates.

The date of July 7 will always be remembered by London’s commuters: the day terrorists carried out three bomb attacks on a busy morning at about 8:50am on London Underground, with a fourth device exploding later on a double-decker bus. At least 56 people died and more than 700 were injured in the attacks that police quickly traced to suicide bombers. Whilst the impact of the incidents led to the closure of the entire network, parts of the system re-opened during the following days with the bombing sites remaining closed as crime scenes by the Metropolitan Police.

Metronet Rail, revitalising two-thirds of the London Tube, is maintaining and upgrading deep tube lines, Bakerloo, Victoria and Central, as well as those in open sections known as the sub-surface lines. Together with London Underground, all three companies worked as one to return Aldgate and Edgware Road to normality. The King’s Cross site falls under the responsibility of Tube Lines, who are renewing the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines.

Within hours of the blasts, Metronet’s civil engineers carried out initial inspections at Aldgate and Edgware Road. This allowed police to continue their investigation safely due to no significant structural damage. As soon as the sites were handed back from the Metropolitan Police, some 200 Metronet engineers moved in to repair both sites. Working 24/7 they were able to return Aldgate to service in just seven days and Edgware Road in eight.

Metronet’s Andrew Lezala said: “We were determined to help get the capital back on its feet. From the moment the bombers struck on July 7 we have worked extremely closely with London Underground and the emergency services.”

The sites

The bomb at Aldgate had been detonated on a train heading east on the outer Circle line track from Liverpool Street. A full assessment, including ultrasonic testing of the rails, revealed major damage only to cables used for signalling, power and communications, some of which date back more than 40 years, with others being replaced ten years ago as part of a new centralised signalling control system. The tunnel, constructed in the early 20th century, was undamaged and no ballast was needed to be replaced.

Following the removal of the trains, cleaning contractors were brought in to carry out a deep clean before cabling repairs took place. On average, less than 1,000 metres of cable was replaced at Aldgate. The works that took place were predominantly to cut and re-join damaged cables and to ’hand-raise‘ every cable to ensure it was safe and connected correctly.

Engineers worked round-the-clock shifts repairing the damage and were able to test and re-commission the signalling system, once several stalled trains had been removed from the area. It was also the first time in ten years that more than one Circle Line train was stabled for a significant amount of time at Metronet’s Neasden depot, normally home to the Metropolitan Line trains. The Circle line trains trapped between the two sites had to be moved here for maintenance as access to their usual stabling area was blocked.

One of the key technical challenges faced by Metronet was to remove the train from the tunnel. Here the blast had pushed the roof of the carriage upwards, preventing the train from being moved. Metronet, working closely with a number of parties including Tube Lines Emergency Response Unit and the Fire Brigade, were able to cut through the roof, thereby allowing battery locomotives to extract the damaged train to a secure compound for further forensic investigations. The site was back in operational use on the July 25.

At Edgware Road police handed back control to London Underground on July 20 following the removal of the bombed carriage by crane. Full assessment of the site revealed damage was confined to cabling carrying signalling information, communications and power. Approximately 300 metres of AC main was replaced at Edgware Road. However, the recovery was not a straight-forward job with the site proving particularly challenging as all of the cables are lead-covered, the placement of which is such that it was difficult to gain access to them for hand-raising. Ultrasonic inspections confirmed the rail was undamaged.

Metronet also took the opportunity while the Circle Line was closed between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road to carry out extra maintenance activities to track and signalling. This would normally take weeks as engineers usually have just a four-hour window of access to the track each night.

Following completion of the repairs, Edgware Road re-opened on the July 29.

Helping hand

Metronet staff also played a role in helping the injured. Those with first aid and track training had immediately been involved in rescuing the wounded and assisting the emergency services. In fact, many heard the Edgware Road bomb detonate from one of Metronet’s major offices, just 100 yards away.

Without pausing for thought, those who could grabbed their high visibility jackets and went to help. Some acted as stretcher bearers, forcing their way into the ruined train to take out the seriously injured. Others handed out cups of cold water to the injured at platform level.

“Our first priority was to collate information and try to support rescue efforts,” said Metronet’s Ian Prosser, first in charge. “The immediate follow-up was sending in our engineers and specialists to establish that the sites were safe for the emergency services.

“We then had to ensure we were resourced to support London Underground and the police in their jobs and try to assess the damage. People volunteered to put themselves into quite difficult situations without batting an eyelid.”

But it was also business as usual as Metronet carried on utilising the four-hour nightly engineering window. Planned maintenance work continued on the night of the July 7, despite a lack of resources. Metronet’s in-house contractor, TrackForce, had already geared up for the job with extra staff and helped to prevent major hold-ups on the Victoria Line by dealing with a broken rail.

Separately, fleet worked through the night to return a service on the affected lines the next morning. Simon Peacock, Fleet Manager, said: “I think it is spectacular we were able to achieve any kind of service the morning after the bombings. The attitude was ‘we will not be beaten’.”

London Underground senior management praised Metronet for its response.

Howard Collins, London Underground’s SSL Service Director, said: “We have had great support on site from Metronet engineers 24/7 and I have been speaking at all hours to Metronet senior management. There have been some real individual heroes from Metronet and we have worked well together as a team.”

Keeping London running

The terrible tragedy of July 7 2005 shocked Londoners and people around the world. Passenger numbers are down by 5 per cent since the attacks, but confidence is returning as commuters carry on and try to get back to routine.

Metronet’s Sam Green managed the site at Edgware Road, co-ordinating the recovery to assist with police forensic work and summed up the feeling of everyone across the organisation, from managers to front line staff. “It’s the guys doing the day to day jobs – the duty operations managers (engineering) and all their colleagues in the Engineering Control Centre, all the fleet depots, signals and track teams…in fact all of the asset areas providing normal support for London Underground. These are the people who have kept London running.”