The ‘ticking timebombs’ that are putting anyone who uses the Tube at risk
Calls have been made to ban electric bikes on the Tube after an e-bike exploded moments before boarding a train.
E-bikes continue to make headlines after a bike went up in flames at the Rayners Lane Tube station in northwest London.
Footage shows how the burning remains of an e-bike sent black smoke into the air as it was fully alight just inches from a Tube carriage on February 27.
The train drivers’ union Aslef said the incident ‘could have been much worse’ and that e-bikes on trains pose a risk to passengers and staff.
‘Ticking timebomb’
Controversial e-bikes have become a part and parcel of London roads, but many say they don’t belong on the Tube – or homes – after a spate of fires.
Scott Peden has sounded the alarm on e-bikes after losing his entire family and house in a blaze. He told Metro previously: ‘They’re becoming more popular which is amazing, but when you start modifying them, or they get old, they’re a ticking timebomb.’
Aslef warned that an explosion on board the Tube train could have ‘led to serious causalities or deaths.’
It called for a ban on e-bikes on the Underground, which is backed by the RMT and TSSA unions. E-scooters were prohibited on the Tube in 2021.
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s London Underground organiser, said: ‘The absolute hypocrisy of banning scooters and other battery-operated vehicles, but not e-bikes is staggering – and a real risk to passengers, platform staff, and Tube train drivers.
‘It beggars belief that TfL is still allowing these potentially explosive devices on their services.’
The RMT, which represents around 10,000 workers on the Tube, said the e-bike fire put passengers at ‘severe risk.’
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E-scooters and e-bikes the London Underground
There have been repeated calls to ban electric bikes on board trains.
E-scooters are already prohibited on the London Underground and on most train operators after concerns over the lithium-ion batteries.
TfL banned all privately-owned e-scooters and e-unicycles on its network from December 13, 2021, including on the Tube, buses, Overground, trams and the DLR.
Several rail operators followed two years later, with bans now in place on Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Chiltern Railways.
Non-folding bikes, whether bicycles or e-bikes, are generally allowed on some parts of the Tube during specific off-peak hours and on weekends.
Folding bikes can be taken anywhere at any time, although bus drivers can bar them if the service is too busy, TfL said.
Brennan said groups of e-bike riders on trains together is ‘exponentially increasing the dangers of a fire and explosion, as a fire on one could cause others to explode.’
Aslef said that an internal TfL probe into the Rayners Lane incident found that the bike and its rider were ‘only moments away from boarding the train.’
Eddie Dempsey, the newly appointed RMT general secretary, said that TfL needs to take ‘immediate action and ban e-bikes from London Underground just as they do with e-scooters.’
Aslef said it will consider industrial action unless TfL ‘does the right thing’ and bans e-bikes as well.
A TfL spokesperson told Metro in a statement: ‘Our primary concern is always the safety of our customers and staff, and we regularly review our risk assessments and the controls we have in place to ensure our customers can travel safely.
‘Following the recent incident at Rayners Lane station, we are reviewing our risk assessment and continue to talk to the London Fire Brigade about this incident.’
Peden lost his partner Gemma, their two young children Lilly and Oliver and their two dogs died in the blaze on June 29, 2023, which also burned their Cambridge home to the ground.
Scott told Metro previously how he tried to battle his way into the burning home before he collapsed unconscious. When he woke up, he found out that no one else in his family made it out of the house.
Sofia Duarte, 21, was killed on January 1, 2023, when an e-bike battery fire tore through her boyfriend’s Bermondsey apartment where she was staying.
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