A passenger was dragged 60 metres down an Overground station platform after their hand became trapped in a train’s doors.

The “trap and drag” incident took place at Enfield Town station on the evening of July 17.

It involved a train travelling towards London Liverpool Street operated by Arriva Rail London, which runs London Overground services on behalf of Transport for London (TfL).

A Rail Accident Investigation Report (RAIB) said that the passenger was taken to hospital for minor injuries, and has since suffered “psychological distress”.

The accident happened after the passenger hurried towards the train as the doors were closing, placing their hand between the doors while attempting to board.

The driver did not see that the passenger was near the train and trapped in the doors when deciding to pull out from the platform, investigators said.

As the train started to move, the passenger was forced to run alongside it, before losing their footing and being dragged along the platform.

The driver stopped the train after passengers alerted them by operating emergency door release handles.

During the accident, the train travelled 60 metres down the platform, reaching a speed of 11mph.

Investigators found that the train doors were able to lock because objects thinner than 30mm, such as fingers or coats, are not always picked up by its obstacle detection system.

This meant that the driver saw the illuminated interlock light indicating that the doors were closed and locked.

The driver of the train had checked the CCTV monitors when he started to close the doors, which was before the passenger was visible on the platform.

A safety check carried out by the driver after the doors had closed and before the train departed “did not detect that the passenger was trapped in the doors”, investigators added.

Rory O’Neill, TfL’s general manager for London Overground, said: “We're sorry that our customer experienced this distressing incident.”

He added that safety was the transport body’s “top priority”, and that operator Arriva Rail immediately carried out an investigation into the accident, and fully co-operated with the RAIB probe.

TfL said: “After this incident, Arriva Rail shared learnings with drivers, and held individual refresher conversations on what is needed to keep our customers safe. 

“A staff video was also produced to support these briefings.  We have also taken great strides to raise customer awareness about the hazards of obstructing closing train doors. 

“This includes videos published across our social media channels and safety focused marketing both on board trains and station platforms.”