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Obstruction in Victoria line tunnel?

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tsr

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Hello all

At about 1352hrs today I was on a Victoria line train southbound between Green Park and Victoria when there was a noticeable banging noise and some of the doors along the right-hand side of the train were pushed inward.

The motion of the doors and the general type of noise suggested that it wasn't a strong air current, such as you get in tunnels. I am aware that it would seem similar to this common phenomenon to most people, but it most certainly wasn't that. I have been using the Victoria line very frequently in the last month and have never seen or heard anything quite like this.

The only logical conclusion I can think of is that there was some piece of the tunnel infrastructure flapping or infringing on the path of the train, but I have no idea what.

There were some small indentations I imagine were consistent with an item touching against the train, with very little paint damage, on a few of the doors, between the window and the area where you might expect damage from feet.

I feel it is important to point out that I reported this to a member of TfL staff at Victoria station immediately after coming up the escalator, and they said they would report it to someone relevant. I have not heard of any disruption so I can only assume this was a minor fault. They did take a few details about the incident which I presume were important for diagnosis.

Any ideas? Thanks.
 
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Mojo

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Hello all

At about 1352hrs today I was on a Victoria line train southbound between Green Park and Victoria when there was a noticeable banging noise and some of the doors along the right-hand side of the train were pushed inward.
This happens all the time on the Victoria line and is not a fault and nothing to be concerned with. I've always put it down to turbulence although I don't actually know.
I feel it is important to point out that I reported this to a member of TfL staff at Victoria station immediately after coming up the escalator, and they said they would report it to someone relevant.
In future you are better off reporting things to London Underground staff on the station as they are operational rather than TfL staff who work in the travel information centre and the bus station and are probably not clued up on things like that.
 

WinterChief

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There was a problem a while ago (4 months) where one of the track/ signals gang left a relay cabinet open and as the train went past it blew it open and because it was sprung loaded it damaged 8 doors, enough to warrant replacement.

Could be similar, or again could be wind!
 

Peter Mugridge

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The best way to report something potentially serious on the Underground is to knock on the station supervisor's door.
 

tsr

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As I said I thought it couldn't be wind and actually my first thought was "someone left a door open", but then I thought "no, nobody would be that silly" - hence why I didn't mention it above. Obviously when you look at the layout of a tunnel's infrastructure, it's a logical problem to have.

If it was a door, I would assume that the part of the coach that has least clearance (i.e. the section in the middle, where it can overhang more) struck the door.

Since I couldn't see any major damage, I didn't consider it to be a serious issue, however, there was a little damage and I hope a maintenance worker doesn't get a nasty surprise. All I can say is that at least it wasn't window height as then you could be looking at a fatality from an intruding object striking a passenger at speed.
 

Mojo

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As I said above, this loud banging noise on the Victoria line where the doors move in is a frequent occurrence and really nothing to worry about. I used to travel twice daily on the Victoria line and heard this noise every day.
 

tsr

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This was more than that. I also travel on the Victoria line frequently and I am familiar with most of the noises! It could be an extreme case but I very much doubt it.
 

Mojo

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I am sorry but I simply cannot believe it is anything sinister. You mentioned ''the motion of the doors'' yet whenever I hear this it is visibly noticeable that the doors move.
 

AlterEgo

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I am sorry but I simply cannot believe it is anything sinister. You mentioned ''the motion of the doors'' yet whenever I hear this it is visibly noticeable that the doors move.

This is caused by pressure waves, is it not? Quite common on 1995 and 1996 stock too I think.
 

Daniel

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This was more than that. I also travel on the Victoria line frequently and I am familiar with most of the noises! It could be an extreme case but I very much doubt it.

I've had a look through our logs, (heartbeat summary and failure & delay sheets for those in the know), from the 25th up to today, and there's no mention of anything unusual, so nothing has caused concern.

I imagine it was just a vent shaft, and if worse than usual perhaps it was just unfortunate timing in that a train was passing the shaft travelling in the opposite direction at the same time.
 
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