By Elliott West
“It made me love London more passionately”.
7/7 survivor
Introduction
Eighteen years ago, tragedy struck an unsuspected London with four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists on the capital’s transport system during the morning rush hour. These homemade bombs were detonated in quick succession, three on London Underground trains at Aldgate at 8.50 am, Edgware Road at 8.50 am, Russell Square at 8.50 am and a fourth aboard a double-decker bus at Tavistock Square at 9.47 am. As a result, 52 people lost their lives and 700 were injured in the attacks. It is a day that will be etched in the memories of Londoners for many years to come, one where the heroic acts of transport workers, emergency services and the general public shone through the grey mist of these horrific acts and displayed the courage of all amid adversity.
The Cloud of Terror
I remember this day so well. I was working at Baker Street station doing my ticket office training and all of a sudden, there was a radio message saying there was a power outage on the network. This led to a period of uncertainty, eventually leading to a station evacuation. I will never forget the volume of customers that dispersed on the surrounding London streets and then the eerie silence as the station resembled the padlocked mode of Christmas Day with the turning sound of escalators and the odd mouse scuttling down one of the ten platforms. The surrounding, once-bustling streets outside were deserted and devoid of cars, buses and lorries, a tumbleweed moment where the silence was overwhelming and almost stifling, only broken by the odd chorus of birds singing outside.
Unknown to myself and many other staff, what was originally thought to be six explosions but turned out to be four, had ripped through three tube trains and a London bus. I didn’t see any of it until I got home in the late afternoon after having to get a member of staff to give me a lift to Hammersmith. Turning on the television, I sat in disbelief as the news unfolded before my very eyes. The twisted wreckage of trains where the bombs had ripped through the carriages, the bus with its roof blown off, the walking wounded, covered in thick acrid dust and the wail of emergency sirens as they sped to various locations across London to help in any way they could. This was human carnage on full display and a tragedy that reminds me of the Pan Am Lockerbie bomb explosion in 1988 where 270 people tragically lost their lives.
From the confusion of a power outage and a derailment, came an outpouring of heroism that this country excels in when required. Members of the public put their own lives at risk to help those less fortunate and saved several lives as a result. Despite this tragedy, the after events prove that London was not going to be beaten by this act of terrorism. It happened, tragically lives were lost and many that survived were left with life-changing injuries and psychological trauma yet London healed, slowly but surely, resolute and determined. Seven of the victims were killed at Aldgate, six at Edgware Road, 26 at King’s Cross/Russell Square and 13 at Tavistock Square. London Underground hadn’t seen such a tragedy happen on its system since the King’s Cross fire in 1987 where there were 31 fatalities and the Moorgate tube crash in 1975 where 43 people died and 74 were injured.
Lessons Learned
Since this tragedy, several changes have occurred to London’s transport system with a new Connect radio system as a direct result of emergency services not being able to communicate on the system during the event and a review of emergency and evacuation procedures. Rigorous staff training has meant several situations have been averted as a result and there is always a team effort when an incident occurs with quick-thinking responses and tried and tested methods put in place to minimise the effect and to bring the service back as quickly as feasible. Although no transport can completely envisage a situation, they can have numerous plans to deal with them if they arise. This is a day that no one will forget and the souls lost and injured will always be our tragic heroes.
