TEENAGE girls screamed in horror as they watched a man disappear under a moving train at Dumbarton East rail station last week.

As revealed in the Reporter, the man disappeared under a moving train after trying to catch the service at Dumbarton East rail station on Saturday, May 7.

A 43-year-old man was left with "life-changing" injuries and underwent surgery.

Schoolboy Andrew Morgan, 16, was one of a number of teenagers who witnessed the horror accident that occurred just after 10.15pm. He was with friends on the platform and saw the man try to press the button to open the passenger carriage doors before running alongside the train and try to catch up with the driver's carriage.

The Our Lady and St Patrick’s High pupil told the Reporter: “On the way into the station, the guy was running behind me, but we then realised that it wasn’t our train, which was late. The guy pushed the buttons a few times, but the doors had shut and it started rolling. He punched the train and then kicked it, but the train kept going and then he went right under. There were younger girls on the platform who were screaming and then we realised there was another train due to come in shortly.”

The quick-thinking teenagers thought the man had certainly been killed, but realised he had survived after the train had left the station.
Andrew continued: “A few people saw him lying on the tracks. We phoned the police and an ambulance and went to the customer service button, pushed it and told the person on the other end what had happened.
“It happened up the far end of the platform and someone said the guy’s arm had almost been taken off. One of my friends ran up and flagged down the other train which was coming in a few minutes later.”

Another teenager who was present during the incident, but who didn't want to be named, said: "There was blood everywhere. I saw the guy lying on the tracks. I just got people out the way for the emergency services.
"I didn't see the whole thing. He never fell on the track, what happened was he was trying to get a train, it had already started to move so he ran up to chase after it. He got up to the driver, kicked the train with his right foot. By that time I was at the top of the stairs."

The train involved in the incident was a driver-only-operated service (DOO).
Removing guards from trains was part of a deal brokered when ScotRail won back the contract to provide train services last year.

Rail workers union RMT believe that future accidents could be prevented by putting guards back on each train, and are currently balloting their members on potential industrial action over driver only operated services.

Mick Hogg, RMT regional organiser for Scotland, said: "This train was driver only operated and we have argued that you should have a guard on the train. The driver is looking straight ahead, the incident may still have happened but if there's a guard on the train the driver could have been alerted. This incident could not have come at a worse time for Scotrail."

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said the incident was "shocking". He added: “It shows once again that not only is DOO a permanent safety risk but that it also puts our drivers in an impossible situation.
“RMT awaits the outcome of the full investigation into the incident that is now underway but we want clear and immediate assurances from ScotRail on the safety of their trains – assurances that we believe can only be meaningful if they include a rolling back of Driver Only Operation.”

A spokeswoman for ScotRail said: “The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is currently undertaking an inquiry into this incident, and we are co-operating fully – including supplying CCTV footage from Dumbarton East station.”

British Transport Police confirmed an investigation is ongoing, adding that there were no suspicious circumstances.