Family of woman who died after train station fall relaunch step-free access campaign

The family of a Jewish woman who died after falling down stairs at Mill Hill Broadway train station are appealing to the local community to help progress funding for step free access seven years after her “utterly avoidable” loss.

A member of Edgware United Synagogue, Priscilla Tropp, 76, who had leukaemia, was returning home from her regular treatment at Guys Hospital in central London when she fell. She died in the Royal Free Hospital in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest, internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen.

Whilst the coroner inquest ruled the incident an accidental death from a slip, Tropp’s family believe that had a lift been available at the station, she would still be alive.

Daughter Sara Sherrard, 58, a grandmother and member of Mill Hill United Synagogue, marked Thursday 27 November 2025, the seventh anniversary of her mother’s death, by resurrecting the Step Free Access (SFA) campaign that she “honestly hoped we had seen the back of.”

She tells Jewish News: “In April 2019, Mill Hill Broadway was awarded step-free access, with the promise, to huge fanfare, that we would have a lift being built within five years.

“That never happened, and here we are now in the next funding period, which is 2024 to 2029, with £350 million ringfenced for an Access for All fund (a government-backed initiative to improve accessibility for disabled people and those with mobility issues in public spaces like railway stations).”

To date, funding has only been approved to deliver the design phases of the project.

Network Rail secured monies from the Department for Transport “to go ahead with the next stage, which is the AIP (approval in principle) design for the lifts installation, which effectively is going to take months.”

She explains: “Work has already started on the AIP, which forms an essential step in the process. They’re literally, as we speak right now, working down at Mill Hill, doing the engineering, structural surveys and all of that in order to provide a design that will then go to the Department of Transport to know the final cost.”

The government will then be asked to release the necessary funds. However, given the significant cost pressures across the Access for All portfolio, no-one is able to confirm if the future funding will be approved.

Well aware the project will cost “millions and millions”, Sherrard is determined to campaign over the next few months to ensure the government are made fully aware of “how much we need this lift and that they can’t forget about us. They made a promise. They should fulfill their promise. In April, it will be seven years; that’s too long to wait for a lift that was promised seven years ago.”

Priscilla Tropp, who died in November 2018, following a fall down stairs at Mill Hill Broadway Station

Supported by family, members of Mill Hill United Synagogue, and Barnet (Mill Hill) Councillors Elliot Simberg and Val Duschinsky, Sherrard will spend the next few months “calling on Mill Hill residents and commuters to individually reach out to the Department of Transport, in the hope that come next year when the funding assessment is made, a strong demonstration of the community’s collective desire for a lift will have helped to swing the decision in Mill Hill Broadway’s favour.

“After all”, she adds, “we are only asking for our share of the ringfenced £350 million Access for All fund in the 2024-2029 period.”

She says she’s been “encouraged by the display of public support as we stood with boxes of chocolates and asked commuters to scan the QR code on the flyer to link directly to the ‘contact us’ page of the Department for Transport and explain just how much a lift at Mill Hill Broadway station means to each and every one of them”.

Campaigners plan “to flood” the authorities “with enquiries, so they know just how much Mill Hill wants and needs this lift. So many more people would use the station if it were accessible to them. We have an ageing population, many disabled residents and a huge number of parents who attempt to carry their buggies up the stairs, which is so dangerous. We need this lift before anyone else loses a loved one.

Sherrard tells Jewish News: “The inquest that resulted from my mother’s death identified failings in the Govia Thameslink response to the accident. As a result GTR introduced PAPI, a specific emergency response procedure to passenger accidents which they rolled out across all stations across the network.

However, having identified the gap in GTR’s safety regulations, she recognised the gap was industry wide. Over the years since her death, Sherrard has successfully campaigned for PAPI to become an example of standard practice across the whole Rail industry.

She says: “I helped in the drafting of a new industry Guidance Note which was finally published at the end of last year and guides all UK Rail companies to implement clear safety response procedures in managing accidents in and around stations.

“Mum was our family’s lifeline and we miss her terribly, but it is heartwarming to know that she now provides a lifeline to millions of people daily – what an incredible legacy. The last piece in the puzzle from this story is getting the lifts installed at MHB station and I am not prepared to give up until I see that become a reality.”

Councillor Elliot Simberg tells Jewish News: “Councillors have been trying to get Step Free access at Mill Hill Broadway station since 2015.”

Together with Cllr. Val Duschinsky, he believes that “everyone should have equal access to Mill Hill Broadway Station, regardless of any accessibility challenges, whether you are using a wheelchair, pushing a buggy, relying on a walking aide, carrying heavy luggage or simply prefer to avoid stairs that can pose a safety risk, as the Sherrard family know too well. Everyone should feel comfortable and confident using our station.

“We fully support this campaign set up by Sara Sherrard in memory of her late mother Priscilla Tropp, who sadly lost her life at Mill Hill Broadway Station in November 2018.”

He added: “Accessibility is not a luxury, it is a necessity for creating an inclusive and safe environment for all passengers.”

Local Labour MP (Hendon) David Pinto-Duschinsky said: “What happened to Mrs Tropp is an appalling tragedy. No family should have to go through what hers has, and I am determined to do all in my power to make sure something like this can never happen again. Mill Hill Broadway is Barnet’s busiest railway station and step-free access is absolutely essential for so many passengers, especially parents, older residents and disabled people.

“That’s why I have repeatedly met with the Department for Transport, including the Rail Minister and the officials working on the step free-access programme, as well as senior executives from Network Rail and Govia Thameslink, to lobby for step-free access at Mill Hill Broadway. I will continue to push hard for it.”

Jewish News has approached Network Rail for comment.