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Busiest trains carrying 40 per cent above their capacity

Pippa Crerar, City Hall Editor
4 Feb 2009


LONDON'S overground rail network is struggling to cope with growing passenger numbers and is set to get worse, a report warns today.

Trains on the most overcrowded routes are carrying 40 per cent more passengers than they should during the morning and evening peak periods.

The report by the London Assembly's transport committee paints a grim picture of the daily ordeal endured by half a million commuters each day.

Click on the graphic below to see a bigger version of the image:


It warns of dangerous conditions with passengers fainting, being crushed by closing doors, falling into the gap between trains and the platform and the spread of "train rage", where arguments break out over space.

Cattle-truck conditions are worst at "pinch points" including East Croydon, Surbiton, Tottenham Hale, Forest Hill, Bromley South, Balham Clapham Junction, Finsbury Park, Sydenham, Streatham Hill and Ealing Broadway Stations. The busiest train into London is the 7.15am from Cambridge to King's Cross which has a capacity of 494 but regularly carries 870 passengers.

The economic downturn is set to make matters worse with cuts in services raising the prospect of over-crowding as far ahead as 2026. Committee chairman Val Shawcross warned that too many passengers were suffering from "dire" journeys and that urgent action was needed from the train firms, Mayor Boris Johnson and the Government.

"Being left stranded as full trains go by, or squashed up against fellow commuters inside packed carriages are common experiences for many Londoners," she said. "For London as a whole and for most individual train operating companies, significantly more passengers are travelling than the network is able to carry. In the long-term, passenger demand will continue to grow and solutions are needed to ensure sufficient capacity is available. London's future prosperity depends on it."

The inquiry found that two thirds of commuters were unhappy with the capacity on peak services. "London performs worse than other areas of the country and some services are so packed there are health and safety risks," it said.

The Office of Rail Regulation also told the committee it was worried overcrowding could endanger passengers. Worryingly, the report claimed official measures of overcrowding underestimated the true scale of the problem as trains were often already full before they reached the outskirts of the capital.

"When trains are that crowded it means there are probably five passengers squeezed into every square metre of standing space on board," it said. The report warns train firms against cutting services in the recession as this would leave the network lacking the infrastructure to increase capacity in the future.

Reader views (64)

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I commute daily on one of these trains, and I would say "40%, is that all?"

- Mark, London, 09/06/2009 13:58
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Smiles and laughter reign
in the absence of the rain -
Pain,is forgotten.

- Karinskie, London, England., 04/06/2009 22:25
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I livef in london back in the early 90s. Got the picc line from sth harrow to embankment every morn and evening! Packed to the door each time around rush hour ! What can you do its the same in every big city in the world!so its part of life living in big cities!

- Mike, boston ma usa, 29/05/2009 22:30
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This is why I gave up public transport years ago and now ride a motorbike instead. Cheaper, quicker and a pleasure in all but the worst weather. I really don't know how people put up with the trains. They are not just unpleasant but extremely dangerous.

- Bruce, London, 29/05/2009 16:02
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One simple solution would be to ban the building of any new high rise offices in London. make the companies build outside the London area and then only hire people who lived in that particular area. (no more commuting)people might even be able to walk to work. Then gradually close down some of the London offices and leave the capital to the tourists.

- Jon Vickers, SC USA, 26/05/2009 14:49
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Nothing has changed. In 1950 I used to travel to school by tube from Hampstead to Warren street and the trains were so full that many times my feet never touched the ground and on occasion I was swept out with the crushing crowd at the wrong station. Stop whining and get a life. You chose to live in London.

- Jon Vickers, SC USA, 26/05/2009 13:14
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London transport in groaning under the weight of users. Let's try and get back to basics! Ever since Margaret Thatcher declared that there can be no favourites in the transport game, public transport has been justified only if it turns a profit - sheer stupidity. If you own a car and wish to drive to work - small cars (less than 1000cc) only. If the underground is full to capacity at rush hour, what about trams or dedicated bus lanes- drive your car on the bus lane? A one month ban to drive anywhere in the capital. We need some kind of 21st century transport for the Olympics unless Britain (and London) wants to end up looking like Spain's totally incompetent cousin

- Victhebrit, Nara, Japan, 26/05/2009 00:25
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What do health and safety have to say about this?? After all is there was an accident with one of these overcrowded trains it would be carnage.

It's interesting how health and safety interfere in petty decisions such as children playing conkers with goggles on to protect their eyes, yet when it comes to the truly serious issues in our lives, they are noticebly absent.

- Margy, LOndon, 19/05/2009 10:56
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London has 3 years to get ready for the Olympics, with the public transport we have currently we are headed for a world of hurt. The only way you have a successful Olympics or a successful public transport system is to stop talking about it and actually do something about it.

- Ken, London, 14/05/2009 14:14
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To Frank, Manchester.

London is bankrolling less affluent areas of the country to the tune of more than £13bn a year. The average person living or working in the capital pays about £1,740 a year more in tax than he or she gets back in public spending on infrastructure such as roads and schools.

Despite the fact that the capital accounts for nearly one-fifth of the UK economy, London has some of the most heavily overcrowded trains, the greatest disparity between skilled and unskilled workers and accounts for some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.

- Damian, London, 07/05/2009 14:03
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Poor Londoners complaining about how hard done by, they are.You seem to have forgotten that London receives materially higher government transport subsidies, per head of population,than any where else in the UK.This is before even taking into account the likes of the £16 Billion being spent on the Crossrail project.What about the rest of us?In Manchester,the only way we could get a promise of additional funds for transport i.e.trains,stations,buses etc.,was for us to accept congestion charging.Fortunately,afew politicians forced through a referrendum and the great unwashed told them where to stick their money with strings.Be grateful for what you have got and are getting and occasionally perhaps you may think about the rest of the country.If everything wasnot centeralised around London and the southeast, perhaps the problem would go away!!!!

- Frank, manchester, 05/05/2009 12:30
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Travelling in the rush hour is a complete nightmare. Come October when my annual season ticket ends I will not be renewing it. I have two options drive in by car or buy a Scooter. I am so looking forward to it and sure I will not miss the trains nor the inconsiderate passengers.

- Kennie, Lodon UK, 29/04/2009 14:19
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yes this is britain at it again day light robbery train fares, we go round the world pleading democracy health and safety all the other crap they come out with, when i went to london a few years back i was horrified at the underground system,it was jam packed absolutley a joke and when i got to the platform people where hanging out of the trains people were pick pocketed beggars on trains sick people returning home from hospital after operations dangling on the hold bars it was deplorable sardines in a can is to polite for this even in india you get some fresh air how health and safety allows this i dont know they should all hang there heads in shame it is a total disgrace in this day and age god help us all when the olympics start it will be bedlam and even more filthy than before .

- James Fennessey, glasgow, 26/04/2009 09:32
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It's amazing that a peak train at Surbiton station @ 9.11 only has 4 carriages. Whereas the 9.19 has 12 carriages. Can't they just make them two eights?

(Rocket science department that way >>>> )

- Nick, Surbiton, 23/04/2009 11:11
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The UKs First world train service.One thing you can count on,when a major accident occurs their will be an enquiry as to why,which will cost millions.Where did all the money go in the good times Brown kept telling me about.Not on Education,not on NHS,not on securring decent pensions,not on reducing the high level of tax and not on Transport.I feel the politicians have Raped my country.What is there to be proud of.

- David, london, 20/04/2009 16:49
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Overheard on the platform this morning, "the Chief Exec. of South Eastern should be thrown in prison..."

- Douglas, Blackheath, London, 18/04/2009 01:34
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No problem. Change the capacity numbers for the trains, AGAIN.

- Trunk, US, 13/04/2009 02:51
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There are many people we have to blame.Patrick Abercrombie,for one.His plan was to build a series of highways across the City.This happened to a lesser extent,with things like the A406,the Rochester Way Relief Road and the M11.Next came the closure of the smaller National Rail routes,like the routes to Alexandra Palace via Muswell Hill.This was to be converted to meet London Underground standards,but after World War II,the project was abandoned.This would have been converted back to BR rolling capabilities if it wasn't for the closure of many of the rails in the Sixties.Now today,the rail network has gone unappreciated.We need new rolling stock and new stations now,so we should take investment out of the roads and put it into the railways

- H.J.Jones, London UK, 07/04/2009 13:26
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Labour says we can still take another one million immigrants, the U.K does not have the infrastructure to handle what they have now especially London where I have left a taxi and walked quicker not because of an accident merely gridlock

- Edward John Reed, San Bruno,usa, 06/04/2009 09:20
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if your commute is less than fifteen miles, try an electric bike. kalkhoff aggatu or similar is good. cheap to run, and you won't break a sweat.

- Fred, london, uk, 06/04/2009 04:00
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and they want to tax scooter and bike parking now !
What if all bikers were to start using trains again ?

- Thierry, balham, 01/04/2009 00:43
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Something needs to be done about the rude staff as well. SWT has been making people redundant down the line, clearly to pay for their ticket barriers at Waterloo and the rude staff they employ allegedly to assist passengers but seemingly to be as objectionable to people paying vast sums of money to be abused by them. Retaliate, and you'll be accused of abuse. I'm fortunate that I can always get a seat but I totally sympathise with the overcrowding issue. When will the government realise that public transport is a service which fuels the economy and therefore deserves public money? And when will SWT realise that it should keep its useful, courteous staff members and sack the rude ones?

- Helen, Fleet UK, 27/03/2009 14:40
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I used to work with a Dutchman who said that at school in Holland they were taught that British governments talked and talked and talked, but never took any action ! Nuff Said !! Geoff, Essex

- Geoffrey Chapman, Grays UK, 24/03/2009 23:07
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Surely the short and easy answer is just to add more carriages? -Stop at station- open doors for front of train- then move along and open doors at back end.
Not rocket science, just needs the will to improve.
I also used to see the situation in Scotland, when going from Glasgow to Edinburgh on freelance business, and able to afford 1st class ticket as occasional treat, I'd be sitting in an empty carriage, while others were standing crushed like cattle.- Some highly-paid manager should have come up with some answers by now surely?

- Huggy, Cumbernauld Scotland, 24/03/2009 16:47
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I was driven out of working in central london due to the cramped conditions and broken services at Victoria station inparticually during rush hour and couldnt bear the journey anymore and needed a break after putting up with the tube for 5 years+.....I now drive to work in outer West London and I feel 100% less stressed, angry and dirty and get home much quicker..You should all try it.....There is light at the end of the dirty tunnel....

- Dc, London, 23/03/2009 15:24
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If it's any consolation, we have the same problems here. Summarising a recent story in The Age, Melbourne's suburban trains are considered overcrowded when they have more than 798 passengers yet trains regularly carry 1200 passengers. Connex has told customers it has no upper limit to the number of passengers that can fit on a train. A packed train is only as full as passengers are willing to make it, Connex says. "Unlike other public transport vehicles, there is no maximum number of passengers allowed ... A train is considered safe to depart once the doors have closed."

- Tonyb, Melbourne, Australia, 23/03/2009 10:57
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This is precisely why, after years of enduring the torture of public transit, I broke down and bought a motorbike. Certainly there are some chilly and/or wet days, but my commute has gone from 45 minutes down to 7.

The space I am no longer occupying on public transit can at least go to another sorry soul on the tube/bus. Ironically the motorcycle repayment plus insurance plus petrol come out to within £10 of a monthly travelcard. That doesn't even account for the cost of my time saved, or the extra productivity at work because I have an extra half hour lie-in each morning...

But best of all, I'm in a better mood when I arrive at work as I haven't had to contend with stroppy people and bad breath before my morning tea.

- George, London UK, 20/03/2009 21:13
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I was one of those passengers that has just got sick and tired of the over-priced, over-crowded frequently delayed train network. I would get my station I would then wait for a number of trains since they were so full, already hanging around going nowhere on the platform for a good 30 minutes.. then once I was on the train it would often stop and start all the way in to Central London, it was never a smooth ride. In total my journey to work was so long, around 1 hour 15 minutes but could easily become 2 hours if there was a problem.

The cost was ridiculously high for the service, so I decided enough is enough, and took time out to learn to ride a motorcycle and get my full licence which enables me to carry a passenger, I would then have the freedom to come and go when I like.

I passed my test and then the door was open, I decided to start on a small bike a 125 Vespa Scooter. My first day to work was absolute freedom, I left my house, no hanging around got on my bike and started my journey, since a scooter doesn't cause congestion I could easily pass the huge amounts of traffic, cars with just 1 person in! It was a refreshing journey and only 30 minutes (consistent!).

I will NEVER go back to taking public transport, my bike costs me £5 to fill it for a week, parking is free (well except in awful Westminster Council).

This form of transport is the only solution to taking the stress off of the public transport system, it doesn't congest, journey times are always consistent!

- Josef, Greenwich, London, 20/03/2009 13:35
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And that is legal?

- Vince, London, West London area, 17/03/2009 16:53
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Dire journey is good word for us taking through our passenger marked.

We can believe that our travelling will be collapsed our public transport law by governed bonded. Also there is no strengthen Disability & Accessibiilty Councils at all transportation authority as provision.

We will be determined to our powers aim for better transports with more green energy fulfilments can be issued on our economically sustainabled and recycleable material of them is an useful toolkits.

Adds on more focus on our comments rather than public transports and local authorities as our agreements. The Survey shall be focus on our passengers standard will be aim of the best transportation in Urban and Rural city.

- A F Hassan, Ealing, 17/03/2009 02:10
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In the long term new lines need to be built, but Mayor Boris has cancelled a number of projects so not much hope of things happening there. Double decker trains would be a great idea, but affected bridges and roads would have to be rebuilt - an enormous undertaking. Staggered work starting times for employees might help. Some commuters could reduce the stress of their daily journey by living nearer their place of work. It mystifies me why people are prepared to spend thousands of pounds annually travelling into London each day from the South Coast.

- Trevor Harvey, Highbury, 16/03/2009 11:09
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I agree with Gordon. Shift patterns for everyone and encourage working from home as much as possible. Coming in on the overground I notice a significant difference in passenger numbers on Thursdays and Fridays (which is when most people work from home currently).

- Jay, London, 02/03/2009 13:04
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Ever since I moved to London locals have told me that the transport system is third world and it is true. It has hardly changed in the last 8 years. A shame and a laugh for the rest of europe and big parts of the third world too. Take a look how good it is in Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, to name a few. London is far behind. This nation should be ashamed! But the arrogance is still prevailing! Wake up and stop apologizing because this seems to be the only thing you are good!

- Tony, London, 01/03/2009 13:00
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I can only fully agree...........Being from Europe I have to say public transport in and around London is just simply a scandal. Totally overcrowded trains, unhelpful and partially rude staff, and train fares that make your eyes water. I have given up, rented a parking space and drive.......which is suprisingly all in all cheaper..........And this city wants to host a successful 2012 Olympics.........You'r having a laugh

- Andreas, London, 27/02/2009 11:18
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Jules, tu as de raison. People in London really MUST do something about this, as it won't ever go away.
Let's have a Xmas '08 Athens also!

- Catherine, London, 26/02/2009 18:21
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I pay £71 per week for my commute from Borough Green to London. Bear in mind that it is a 50 min journey for which I very rarely get a seat. Also, there is only 1 train which goes to my destination of Blackfriars which is at at 7:10am in the morning. If I miss this I have to take the next available train to Victoria and suffer the misery of the squashed sardine can journey to the city and pay extra for it. It is a disgrace. Why can't they either put on a more frequent train service or increase the amount of carridges on the few trains that do run.

- N Davies, Kent, 25/02/2009 12:25
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You forget the southeast in that list of pinchpoints, southEastern trains is a joke.

- Ceila, London SE, 25/02/2009 09:57
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Yep stop MOANING and DO SOMETHING. Take to the streets, go on strike, refuse to pay. I am sick and tired of seeing people moaning but putting up with it at the same time. Where does being so British ever get you? Take to the streets. Lets have a may 68 in London!

- Jules, Paris, France, 16/02/2009 22:54
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Personally,I am a car hater,so it would be in my nature to defend the train operating companies.The London Underground offers the 6th best commute in the world out of around 75 metro systems.It is just slightly overcrowded.The national system only takes as much as the London Underground,so it can't be as overcrowded as you make it look.All we need to do is provide larger trains on the Central and Northern lines,and routes into Liverpool St,Victoria and Waterloo.Stop Moaning ,Commuters!

- H.J.Jones, London UK, 12/02/2009 17:08
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I travelling to Kings Cross from Waterloo one morning and an old lady had been sleeping overnight up the siding,she was a tramp,but she had died,and the smell was horrific and nobody did a thing they just moved on to the next carriage.thats London for you,it took another 6 stops before I could get station staff.

- David,Chertsey, Chertsey.UK., 11/02/2009 19:00
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Easy Solution
Put everybody on shiftwork
No more rush hour

- Gordon, Feltham U.K, 11/02/2009 14:32
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We need to get this resolved. I bet the 33% who believe that the trains are not over-crowded are the people to get on first! Trains have been over-crowed now for quite a while haven't they? In fairness I think LU are providing the best service that they can with the given infrastructure. Lets remember they do not have responcibility for the hot-spots above. Someone really needs to stand up and tell the people what happening. Who's coordinating and planning this? Is there any real leaders left?

- James, London, 11/02/2009 13:26
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@Dee, that's easy! PUT THE PRICES UP!

- Serox, London, 09/02/2009 11:20
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If our transport is overcrowded already, how will it cope with the Olympics influx?

- Dee, london, 06/02/2009 18:48
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Seriously, if you can, cycle commute (or even moped/motorcycle). Cycling keeps you fit meaning you don't needthat expensive gym membership, if you get your employer to sign up to the government Bike to Work scheme, you can get up to 50% of a new bike and accessories AND pay it off through salary sacrifice in small chunks each month. Also you get to stick 2 fingers up to the overpriced public transport system and throw your Tube/travel pass in the bin forever and just keep a pay as you go Oyster for occasional use. I made the switch and have never looked back.

- London Biker, London, 06/02/2009 09:34
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I have the dubious pleasure of travelling through Tottenham Hale every day. It is crowded, dirty, the mainline and underground staff don't appear to speak to each other if there is a problem, and the platform staff are probably the rudest and most obnoxious I have ever encountered on the railway. For this privilege I am relieved of over £3500 of my hard earned, tax paid cash every year. If I could avoid it I would, but then they know that they have a captive audience.

- Paul, London, 05/02/2009 11:40
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Interesting that South West Trains have just anounced a further 180 job cuts due to FALLING pasengar numbers.

- John, Wandsworth, 05/02/2009 10:01
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Southern Railways managed to electrify most of their system to third-rail within a few years. Overhead seems to take about 50 years per mile to build.... must be terribly "diffy".

- Alex Mckenna, Manchester, 04/02/2009 22:32
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Renationalise, Make provision for double decker trains, Do away with the weather prone 3rd rail system on the old BR southern region providing an overhead power solution and finally If the UK no longer knows how to build an effective railway system, find someone who does NOW.

- Angry Of Alton, Alton UK, 04/02/2009 19:16
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Over crowding in a car or public vehicle on the roads is illegal. Put 7 people in a car and I am sure if the police stopped you, you would be fined. On a train its 'how many can cram in'. Not only is this inhuman, its extremely unpleasant, with peoples armpits and insanitory habits on display in your face. It would be better if these cattle trucks took out the seats and sawdust was sprinkled on the floor. It might actually be more user friendly and more people could be crammed in.

- Bondy, london, 04/02/2009 18:51
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@Weddigen: Do you travel by tube often? Most of the lines run with trains every one or two minutes during the morning peak. Pray tell, what practical steps do you think that LU should be doing that they're not already doing? It's not as easy as saying "they should run more trains" when they're already running as many trains as are physically possible.

I think you'll find that there's not really many feasible options, aside from building new transport infrastructure, extending station platforms, etc. But of course, Mayor Johnston has scrapped the proposed Cross River Tram, Tramlink Crystal Palace Extension and DLR Dagenham Dock projects, and is still procrastinating over the East London Line Extension - all of which would ease capacity.

Boris has not announced a single new rail transport project since coming to power, but instead has chucked many mature projects on the bonfire. It's not really LU's fault if we have a mayor who has no interest in pursuing funding for public transport enhancement projects.

As for "elf and safety" - I stand by my point. I would far rather get to work on time in a crowded train than be left stuck outside my station whilst someone on a megaphone tells me that the trains are too full for me to board. Of course we deserve less crowded trains. But with the current mayor, it ain't gonna happen.

- Mark Lee, Vauxhall, 04/02/2009 17:46
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@ Anthony - overcrowding and the resulting saftey problem is not Bob Crow's concern and not the staff's fault. There are highly paid rail managers to sort that lot.

- Richard, Bethnall Green, 04/02/2009 16:14
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Wemust remember that the primary purposes of all privately owned so called"public" transport in Britain now is to make a profit for the shareholders and absolutely NOT to provide any kind of public service.

- Anne Heath, WImbledon London, 04/02/2009 14:45
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And why not the Pounds dropped 30% so they are trying to get 40% more in. Economic sense.

- Jim Alan, Lake District, 04/02/2009 14:43
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@ Mark Lee

You obviously do not get it:

LU does not offer a service, but its fares are amongst the highest in world and offer an absolutley disgraceful outdated "service" in return. So much for "value for money".

If these clowns from "'elf and safety" took their jobs indeed seriously, the would have to stop trains from overcrowding.

It is LU RESPONSIBILITY to provide enough trains, which are NOT overcrowded. They take more than enough money from its customers.

The whole matter is just one farce, where one incompetent idiot passes the blame on to another one.

No one seems to interested in solving these problems, but all are very good making excuses, which insults the intelligence of most people.

- Weddigen, London, 04/02/2009 14:02
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Does anyone think now that the UK needs another 10 million immigrants?

Or that we give the politicians their way in letting Turkey join the EU? That'd give another 80 million a theoretical right to live and work in the UK.

- Jools, London, 04/02/2009 13:51
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ahhh mass uncontrolled immigration. And no one saw this coming ????

- Grim Reaper, Hell, 04/02/2009 13:27
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Bob Crow is quick to call a strike under the 'safety' banner when it affects his members.
He must now call a compulsory all-out strike in the name of 'safety' for the passengers who pay his members wages.

- Anthony, Esher, Surrey, 04/02/2009 13:07
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Helen, JC, and Weddigen: If there were tighter health and safety guidelines around train capacities, resulting in people not being allowed to board trains which clearly had the physical space for more people to stand, I presume you wouldn't be amongst the brigade of people saying "It's 'elf and safety gone mad, I tell you!"?

- Mark Lee, Vauxhall, 04/02/2009 13:02
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The train companies can argue to their heart's content the - fine! - line between crowding and overcrowding, but as someone who, until 5 years ago, had to endure train services to the South Coast on a daily basis I can confirm it's also illegal to transport ANIMALS in conditions like these.

- Marianne, SW France, 04/02/2009 12:37
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"The Office of Rail Regulation also told the committee it was worried overcrowding could endanger passengers."


????????

If I overload my car, I invalidate my insurance, car guarantee (if any) and are liable to a fine plus points on my licence, if caught and stopped by the Police.

Where is the 'elf and safety brigade now ? Or are LU with their particular track record (passengers killed in the past) excempt of all necessary safety regulation?

We should be told.

- weddigen, London SW6, 04/02/2009 11:11
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Isn't it illegal to ride in an over-crowded car? Why does the same not apply to an over-crowded train? What are the emergency proceedures for such an over-crowded train? And moreover, how much does your chance of living through an accident dramatically decrease as the number of passengers increase?

- JC, London, 04/02/2009 11:01
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When, exactly, will this be treated as a serious safety issue (and not just as an inconvenience, which it undoubtedly is too)? There must come a point at which it is dangerous for a train to operate when it is so over-capacitated. And the rail companies have had the greedy brass neck to increase the fares, yet again. Makes me sick.

- Helen, London, UK, 04/02/2009 10:38
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Impossible - the car drivers were Congestion Charged out of their vehicles to take up all that spare capacity on public transport. Now your saying that capacity didn't even exist? Why that's tantamount to a fraud. Naughty disingenuous mendacious Ken....

- Ethan, UK, 04/02/2009 10:24
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