A WOMAN was injured yesterday when she was pushed on to a railway line after telling two young men to stop smoking on a station platform, police said.
The 58-year-old commuter suffered bruising and a fractured wrist and was taken to hospital after the incident, which occurred at Farningham Road station in Kent during the morning rush hour.
Detective Inspector Bob Richardson of British Transport
Police yesterday said that the woman was lucky she did not land on the track's live rail.
He said: "It would appear the woman had spoken to the men about smoking earlier this week.
"This morning when she was at the station, she was walking past the same men when one of them pushed her and she fell on to the track.
"She suffered a fractured wrist and bruising to her legs. She was taken to hospital for treatment but has since been released.
"The woman was very lucky she was not more seriously injured. The third rail carries 750 volts of electricity and she could have been electrocuted or even struck by an early morning train."
Southeastern's train services between Kent and London were disrupted because the live rail had to be turned off.
The train company said the woman was rescued by fellow passengers after the attack.
A Southeastern spokesman said: "We are appalled by this incident and hope the perpetrators are quickly identified."
Smoking is banned on station platforms. Police said they were looking into a number of leads and were reviewing CCTV footage from the station.
The full article contains 265 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
