One in five Tube drivers 'unsafe'

By Nicola Beckford
BBC News

Transport for London stressed the incidents had not led to any injuries

Up to 20% of London Underground train drivers are sent on retraining courses each year because of unsafe driving, the BBC has learned.

About 700 drivers were sent on the courses each year since 2003 for wrongly going through red stop signals.

The figures, which were obtained by the BBC under the Freedom of Information Act, include drivers who may have been on courses twice in the same year.

Transport for London said "no injuries" resulted from the signalling incidents.

In all cases, the drivers were retrained as a result of signals passed at danger, which can occur when the driver misjudges the train's braking distance.

The London Underground brake system is automatically triggered if a train goes through a red signal.

The incident is then reported by the driver to the control room for advice on when it is safe for the train to proceed.

Failure to report the incident could result in disciplinary action.

In a statement, Transport for London said: "There have been no injuries as a result of these incidents.

"It must be noted that as London Underground upgrades its signal system a part of its signal system as part of its current rebuilding program, these incidents will be eliminated by the implementation of automatic train operation."

The Radio 5 Live investigation into driver retraining can be heard on the podcast at the Donal MacIntyre programme website.