Man who stuck his head out of train window was next to warning notice

A man died after his head was struck in an incident.

Simon Brown, from East Grinstead, died after his head struck a signal gantry near Balham station.

The 24-year-old was a passenger on the 17.05 Gatwick Express service, formed of a five-coaches, travelling between the airport and London Victoria on Sunday August 7.

In a new report released by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) it said the train was travelling at 60mph when Mr Brown’s head struck a signal gantry 700 metres away from the station.

The report said he was standing at a door in the third coach on the side facing away from the other railway tracks.

The door is used by guards and has an opening droplight with a warning above it saying ‘Do not lean out of window when train is moving’, the report reads.

The RAIB said the distance between the train and the signal gantry was 26cm.

An investigation has been launched by the RAIB into the measures to control the risks from leaning out of windows and the clearance between the train and the signal gantry.

Mr Brown was described as a “life-long train fanatic” by friends.

He first volunteered on the Bluebell Railway as a nine-year-old and had recently taken up a position as an engineering technician with Hitachi Rail Europe in Bristol.

British Transport Police said officers were not treating his death as suspicious.

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