A statue of England captain Harry Kane was not installed at a Transport for London (TfL) railway station because it risked ‘distracting train drivers’, officials have revealed. The project was commissioned by Waltham Forest Council, which spent more than £7,000 on the artwork.
The statue was only discovered to exist in February 2024, and led to speculation over what it actually looked like. The Big Issue managed to obtain photos from the sculptors who made the statue of the England captain.
But the depiction of the man who will lead the Three Lions at Euro 2024 was not placed on a platform at Chingford station because of safety concerns. Another proposed location, according to The Guardian, was Ridgeway Park, where Kane used to play as a boy.
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A TfL freedom of information case officer said: “Discussions with the Operations Team of Arriva Rail London – who operate the London Overground on behalf of Transport for London – around the proposal to locate the statue on the platform behind the buffer stops were high level and started in January of this year. After initial feedback the proposal was not progressed. A detailed assessment of the risks of locating the statue on the platform was not undertaken, therefore we do not hold this information.”
Fears about activity around statue
They added: “Initial concerns that were fed back related to the risk that having the statue in proximity to the buffer stops could cause a distraction to train drivers as they approach the terminal (dead-end) platforms at Chingford. The main distraction issue was not concerned with the statue, but the actions of persons around it, including posing for photographs on/next to it, hanging items on it such as scarfs, etc.
“Had the discussions progressed further, this would have led to the commissioning of a formal safety validation workstream, including hazard identifications and a risk assessment, but a further proposal was then made to relocate the statue off station premises at Chingford, negating the requirement for commissioning of a safety validation.”
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