Underground crowds at 'shocking levels'

Tube crowds are getting 'too large'

London underground crowd levels are at 'shocking levels' with packed commuter trains causing a 'survival of the fittest' mentality, a report by the London Assembly has revealed.

The report criticised the closing of lines such as the Jubilee Line for upgrading work, saying that having sections of the line being closed for whole weekends several times in recent months had caused 'chaos'.

Caroline Pidgeon, chairman of the Assembly's transport committee, was quoted as saying, "Our report highlights shocking levels of overcrowding on the Tube and the impact this has on people.

"We are calling for new thinking on how Tube upgrade work is managed. We cannot have a repeat of the way the Jubilee line upgrade works have been handled when it comes to upgrading other lines."

"London Underground cannot be complacent about finding ways to make the situation more bearable."

Discomfort

According to the report, that involved 716 people being interviewed during September, more than 80 percent of Tuber users said the overcrowding of trains had 'caused them discomfort'. Not just that, but many passengers confessed to those writing the report that they had developed a ruthless 'dog-eat-dog' mentality upon trains, especially when it came to finding a seat.

Many confessed to grabbing seats at the expense of pregnant women and adults carrying children, and then using assorted 'coping strategies' to deal with the stress. This included listening to music or simply turning their backs on fellow passengers so they would not see the crowded carriage.

One passenger admitted, "I'm a different animal on the Tube to normal life. I'm not me. I'm a bit less interested in others."

Many said this 'psyching up to get aboard' or 'sacrificing their manners' was to ensure they arrived at work on time.

Changes to be made

To stop the discomfort and 'fights for seats', the report suggested a 'traffic-light' system in ticket hall so that people could judge exactly how packed the trains will be.

Transport for London (TfL) also said that it would be spending 'billions' of pounds to ensure that space on the Tube network was increased.

"We rightly acknowledges that more and more people are travelling on the Tube, which is why it is so crucial that we deliver the much-needed improvements", a TfL spokesman said to the BBC.

"We are spending billions to increase capacity on the Tube by 30 percent in what is the biggest investment in decades. This will mean more trains, able to carry more passengers, with faster journeys and larger stations."

He cited schemes, such as the promise of air-cooled trains on the Metropolitan Line next year, as "tangible improvements for customers".

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