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London Underground workers' have threatened to strike after an e-bike exploded on a Tube platform last month. The incident occurred on February 27 at Rayners Lane Underground station, with unions calling for a ban on the electric vehicles as a result.
ASLEF union claimed that an internal London Underground investigation concluded the bike was 'only moments away from boarding a train'. It stated that the bike exploded and sent flames 'shooting' into the air, with debris being 'scattered' across the platform.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson told MyLondon: "We were called at around 11.30am on February 27 to reports of an e-bike alight on a platform at Rayners Lane Underground Station. Three fire engines attended and firefighters extinguished the fire. There were no reports of any injuries."
E-scooters and e-unicycles were banned on the London Underground network in December 2021 following similar incidents in the months prior. Finn Brennan, ASLEF's organiser on the Underground, said the union would be instituting a ballot for industrial action unless Transport for London (TfL) banned e-bikes from its network.
Mr Brennan said: "‘An explosion onboard a train would almost certainly have led to serious causalities or deaths and if it led to a derailment, there was a real risk of a mass casualty event."
He added: "It beggars belief that TfL is still allowing these potentially explosive devices on their services. Our health and safety reps have been pointing out the dangers for years, but still TfL refuses to act. It is now common to see groups of e-bike riders board trains together, exponentially increasing the dangers of a fire and explosion, as a fire on one could cause others to explode."
The incident has caused Tube union RMT to reinforce calls for a ban on e-bikes across the London Underground network. The union has reportedly raised its concerns with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, claiming the incident could have been much worse if the e-bike was inside a Tube train.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: "TfL needs to take immediate action and ban e-bikes from London Underground just as they do with e-scooters."
They added: "We have been calling for TfL to take this action to safeguard tube workers and passengers alike for over a year."
The TSSA Union said on X on March 11 that its reps were meeting with TfL in order to urge the authority to ban e-bikes on its network.
A TfL spokesperson told MyLondon: "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."
They added: "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."
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