A conductor did not see a passenger fall into a gap between the train and the platform before signaling the conductor to leave, a court said.

Nigel Lawless, 56, was working on a Transport for Wales train when he arrived at Radyr station in Cardiff on July 25, 2019, but when the train started to depart he was unaware that passenger Gavin Davies was fell on the way.

Mr Davies, who had been drinking in Cardiff city center to retire, was stuck between the train and the platform as he started to leave the station, but the swift actions of a woman who had just left the train prevented the tragedy.

CCTV played a trial at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday saw the woman run to the train conductor’s window and hit him to force him to stop, and luckily he did.

Lawless, of Ynyswen Road, Ynyswen, Rhondda, denies responsibility for the incident and has pleaded not guilty to endangering the safety of a person being transported by rail by willful omission or negligence.

Speaking at the trial, prosecutor Rosamund Rutter said Mr Davies boarded the 10:06 pm train from Cardiff Central to Treherbert, of which Lawless was the driver.

Describing the role of the defendant, Ms Rutter said: “He was in charge of dispatching the train and was in charge of ensuring that the train departed safely from the station, arrived safely at the next station and departed from that station. safely, and so on and so forth until the end of this train journey. “

“He was responsible for opening and closing the doors of the train to allow passengers to get off and to use a bell system to inform the driver that the departure was safe. It was his sole responsibility to ensure that the train leaves each station when it was safe to do so. “

The court heard that the train arrived at Radyr station around 10:20 p.m., when the door was opened to let passengers on and off. Lawless also got out of the train momentarily, walked on the platform before climbing back up. He checked the length of the platform and exited the head of the car again before closing all the doors and signaling to the driver that it was safe to leave.

By the time the doors closed, Mr. Davies had just left the train but due to a bend in the train caused by the shape of the platform Lawless could not see him.

Ms Rutter admitted Mr Davies was “intoxicated” and tripped off the train before falling into the gap between the train and the edge of the platform. Shortly after, the train began to move forward with Mr. Davies still stuck in the breach.

At the stage, another passenger ran to the driver’s window and motioned for him to stop frantically, and the train stopped after traveling about a meter.

The prosecutor said: “Fortunately Mr. Davies was fine and had minor bruising and pain in his back and stomach, but he was not seriously injured. What the Crown says is beyond doubt, c Is that if that passenger hadn’t been able to stop this train from leaving the station, it could have been a lot worse.

“This is the case with the prosecution that this offense took place when Mr. Lawless signaled the departure of the train and he was blatantly unaware that Mr. Davies had fallen under the train, i.e. Mr. Lawless was endangering Mr. Davies’ safety.

“(The defendant) has worked in the profession for 20 years. If he had followed the correct procedures he would have seen Mr. Davies because he would have looked to see if all the passengers were out and if he had not seen that he would have been alerted to something serious that was wrong when he saw a passenger knocking on the windows to stop the train, he was not watching that station or that platform.

Lawless was interviewed on August 29, 2019 and admitted that he did not see Mr Davies fall, but maintained that he was carrying out his duties and responsibilities properly.

The trial continues.