Revealed: The secret meanings behind London Underground bulletins – together with warning of an emergency evacuation

London commuters who frequent the tube will be familiar with the ‘code’ announcement often heard on their journeys, however, few know what they actually mean. 

Sounding over the station speakers, passengers may hear alerts of a ‘Code One’ to ‘Code Eight’ or even for an ‘Inspector Sands’ but not many will know their meanings. 

Transport for London uses a numbered code system for alerting cleaners and staff to areas that need attention to spare riders about any unpleasant details.

The various code numbers correspond to what needs to be cleaned up from station platforms and thoroughfares from vomit, urine, blood and faeces to broken glass, litter, overflowing bins and spills. 

They help staff quickly communicate with one another and locate areas of concern in the maze that is many central London underground stations.   

Code announcements are nothing for commuters to be concerned about – however they may want to take their headphones off and listen for further details if they hear a call for ‘Inspector Sands’. 

Station controllers will play an automated ‘Would Inspector Sands please report to the operation room’ when a fire alarm is triggered. 

Staff have two minutes to get to the control room and check if the alert is legitimate. If the alarm isn’t disabled in that time, it will trigger a full evacuation. 

Passengers may hear alerts of a ‘Code One’ to ‘Code Eight’ or even for an ‘Inspector Sands’ sounding over many London Underground station speakers but not many will know their meanings (stock photo)

Responding to a Freedom of Information request by Metro, TfL said: ‘The Inspector Sands voice message is an automated message which is activated when the station fire alarm sounds’. 

‘The message gives us an opportunity to investigate why the fire alarm is operating. It is a safety mechanism that has been agreed with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and is the same system used in major national rail stations and airports in the UK.’

However, if you do hear an Inspector Sands, there is no need to fret as most of the alarms are non-events. 

‘When the fire alarm is being tested, or when a fire alarm has been triggered (up to 90 per cent of these are false alarms), the automated voice message calls Inspector Sands to wherever the affected alarm is,’ TfL explained, adding there is a ‘specified period of time’ before a full evacuation is ordered.

The code name was first used in theatres in the 1910s to avoid mass panic from the audience. It refers to the use of sand buckets to extinguish fires.

For messes on the station platforms, controllers will use a numbered system, the Independent reports. 

‘Code One’ refers to blood, while ‘Code Two’ indicates urine or excrement and ‘Code Three’ means there’s vomit that needs to be cleared away.

‘Code Four’ signals there’s a drink or some sort of spillage, ‘Code Five’ means broken glass and ‘Code Six’ suggests someone’s left litter on the ground. 

Transport for London uses a numbered code system for alerting cleaners and staff to areas that need attention to spare riders about any unpleasant details (stock photo)

‘Code Seven’ is for staff to ‘report to the operations room’ and finally a ‘Code Eight’ means there’s an overflowing bin that needs to be emptied. 

TfL adds while there is some consistency across multiple stations, they are not ‘set in stone’ throughout the whole tube network. 

The codes have been updated in recent years. Previously, code one to six referred to blood, urine and faeces, vomit, spillage, broken glass and litter respectively while code seven was an alert for anything not covered in the established categories.