The accident which occurred in May on the Underground Railway
between Charing Cross and the Temple was a shock to public opinion, which had almost come to accept the Underground system as beyond suspicion of error. No explanation of the accident could be given at the time, but the report of the Ministry of Transport inquiry now reveals the cause of the accident to have been a false " clear " signal, given because of a wrong connexion made during the previous night. A mistake in wiring the signal, a failure to test that wiring, and an omission to act on several notices of faulty signalling given by various drivers are now held to have occurred. Important conclusions ought to be possible from these findings. One is that however much machines may relieve men of actual mechanical labour, responsibility remains a human characteristic. The human element remains, and that means the continued possibility of error. The Transport Board are, however, as a result of the inquiry, installing lighting on the District and Metropolitan lines which, like that in the tubes, will be switched on immediately the traction current is cut off, and will thus avoid the possibility of trains being stopped with lights extinguished.
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