Sarah Cunningham [George Darrell, courtesy of Lisson Gallery]

THE family of a woman who died on the tube tracks called on Transport for London for “swift and strong action” to improve the safety of those travelling on their network.

Sarah Cunningham, 31, was a talented artist who was found in Chalk Farm tube three days after being reported missing on November 1, 2024.

An inquest into Ms Cunningham’s death was held at Poplar Coroner’s Court yesterday (Wednesday).

After coroner Mary Hassell determined the death to be accidental, Beccy Shepherd, Sarah’s cousin, read a statement on behalf of the family outside the court. She said: “The family appreciates that Sarah made decisions that left her in a vulnerable situation that night. “

This does not take away from how badly she was let down by the people and procedures that should have been there to help her. We believe that there were multiple chances that night for interventions which could have saved Sarah’s life. “Devastatingly, no one intervened.”

The family’s solicitor Leigh Day partner Thomas Jervis added: “Sarah’s family believe she was seriously let down by Transport for London. Passengers, vulnerable or not, should be able to expect their safety as a bare minimum when travelling on the TfL network.

“Sarah’s family are calling on TfL to take swift and strong action to ensure that what happened to Sarah could not happen to anyone else.”

Beccy Shepherd, Ms Cunningham’s cousin, outside the coroner’s court in Poplar

During the conclusion of the inquest Ms Hassell said: “She had become so terribly intoxicated she jumped onto the tracks and did not intend to take her life. She didn’t know what she was doing or where she was going.”

The court heard TfL had recently released a report with recommendations on how they will be reviewing safety on the tube network after Ms Cunningham’s death. Ms Hassell felt that the report “seemed aspirational and lacking in concrete plans”.

The New Journal reported concerns about the lack of safety barriers in tube stations following the artist’s death. Ms Hassell read a written statement from Ms Cunningham’s father Edward describing her as “friendly, sharp and hysterically funny”, adding: “When she was in primary school she said she would be a famous artist – the proudest moment was at her Master’s graduation ceremony. I thought about all the studying she had done and all she had achieved. I cannot believe she is gone.”

Posters were distributed across Camden after Ms Cunningham could not be traced last November

The inquest heard that before her death Ms Cunningham had just returned home from a trip to South Korea and had complained of being jet lagged to friends on November 1. That evening she met three friends, including her partner Jack Brown, at King’s Cross Station at 8pm before the group travelled to an Airbnb booking they were staying at in Jamestown Road, Camden Town.

After a night out at the Jazz Cafe, Ms Cunningham went back to the flat with one friend where they had another drink until around 2.45am. But Ms Cunningham’s mood then dramatically changed and she left the apartment.

CCTV seen at the inquest showed Ms Cunningham at Chalk Farm Tube station on the southbound platform. She stayed there for some time, before walking through a passage to the northbound platform where a train had just left. She was then seen lowering herself onto the tracks before disappearing into the tunnel heading south.

In a written statement, Police Inspector Mark Summerfield said that Ms Cunningham’s death was classified as “unexpected but not suspicious”.

It was approximately 15 minutes until the next train was due on that platform, he said.

She was found dead on November 4, two days later.

Ms Cunningham, born in Nottingham, had a master’s degree from The Royal College of Art in 2022 where she won the Ali H Alkazzi Scholarship Award. Her work had been exhibited all over the world and she had recently returned to London from an exhibition in Seoul.

Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Sarah Cunningham. We recognise the important role our staff play in protecting customers from harm and we will always take action to learn from incidents and improve operational safety.”

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