Union ASLEF made the warning to Transport for London (TfL) after an e-bike caught alight at Rayners Lane station at the end of last month.
They claim that the incident “could have been much worse” if the e-bike had been on the Tube train and not the platform when it burst into flames.
The Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines were both suspended as a result of the fire, and three fire engines attended the scene. There were no reports of any injuries.
Someone’s e-bike caught on fire in Rayners Lane Station causing widespread delays this morning pic.twitter.com/ZppQDIEeyU
— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) February 27, 2025
“An explosion onboard a train would almost certainly have led to serious causalities or deaths,” said Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s organiser on the Underground.
“And if it led to a derailment, there was a real risk of a mass casualty event.
“The absolute hypocrisy of banning scooters and other battery-operated vehicles, but not e-bikes, is staggering – and a real risk to passengers, platform staff, and Tube train drivers.”
TfL banned e-scooters and e-unicycles on the Tube in 2021 but still allows e-bikes on its services.
ASLEF claims that its health and safety representatives have been pointing out the potential dangers of e-bikes for years, adding that TfL still “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,” Brennan added.
The train drivers union now says it will be issuing safety advice to its members reminding them of their right to remove themselves from “dangerous situations”.
They added that they would now be balloting for industrial action over the issue.
“There can be no justification for continuing to put staff and passengers at risk by continuing to allow potentially explosive devices on London Underground trains,” the union said.
TfL has now said that following the recent incident, it would “continue to talk” to the London Fire Brigade, as well as reviewing its risk assessment.
A TfL spokesperson added: “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.”
