RMT Warns Of Continuing Tube Overcrowding Danger As Station Closure Figures Are Revealed

Britain’s largest public transport Trade Union has yet again warned of impending accidents leading to injuries and even deaths, as a result of the over-crowding on London’s Tube stations forecourts and platforms.

Following Tube station closures figures revealed to BBC London in a freedom of information response, it appears that Oxford Circus was closed 112 times in the past 12 months.

The Union’s General Secretary Mick Cash, in response issued a press release in which he condemned both Network Rail and Transport For London, saying:

"The news today that Oxford Circus has had to be closed 112 times in the past year due to severe overcrowding is the clearest warning yet that the tube netwo‎rk is bursting at the seams. It also confirms that the only buffer between that overcrowding and a major tragedy is station and platform staff taking life-or-death decisions to manage the massive pressure on the system.

RMT is now receiving regular reports from our reps of severe overcrowding on both the tube and the commuter rail services. All the indicators are that passenger numbers will continue to surge, cramming more people into a capacity that is already at breaking point."

Mick Cash concluded:

"RMT has repeatedly demanded a transport safety summit in London involving unions, TFL, Network Rail and the train operators where we can openly discuss the staffing, capacity and safety issues that have to be addressed. At the moment the transport authorities are winging it and that is a recipe for disaster. "

Source: RMT

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