Tube passengers trapped in lift

Passengers were trapped in a lift in a London Underground station for one-and-half-hours due to a faulty lock, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

The 23 passengers were stuck in the lift in Elephant and Castle station on Friday night and London Fire Brigade were called to open the lift, TfL said.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said an ongoing strike that day had led to a delay in the rescue.

TfL said the strike had had "no bearing" on the incident.

The incident happened at 2145 BST on Friday, and TfL said it called the fire brigade after staff at the station were unable to open the doors.

Obviously worrying RMT general secretary Bob Crow accused managers of "cavalier attitude".
He said: "Under normal circumstances, if it took more than 20 minutes to get people out managers would be demanding to know why it had taken so long and if it took more than an hour, they would be looking for someone to discipline."

A spokesman for TfL said: "The incident was caused by faulty doors.

"Its obviously worrying for passengers when they are trapped in the lift but the strike had no bearing on the incident. "London Underground is satisfied that staff at the station worked in accordance with procedure."

Station staff who are members of the RMT were on strike to protest against the sacking of a member. The TfL spokesman said the staff member was dismissed for allegedly assaulting a customer, adding that the "well reviewed" decision was upheld after appeals.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk