FOI request detail

Requesting Rail Access Map for London underground

Request ID: FOI-0668-2425
Date published: 27 June 2024

You asked

Hia just wanting a rail access map for the London underground similar to https://www.pta.wa.gov.au/about-us/working-with-the-pta/safety-resources Cheers

We answered

Our ref: FOI-0668-2425

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 25 May 2024 asking for a Rail access map of the London Underground.  

 

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. 

 

I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked:

 

Just wanting a rail access map for the London underground similar to https://www.pta.wa.gov.au/about-us/working-with-the-pta/safety-resources

 

I am requesting a rail map that shows each signal including depo signals

 

However, we are refusing your request under section 14(1) of the Act, as we consider that providing the requested information would place an unreasonable burden on us. Our principal duty is to provide an effective transport service for London, and we consider that answering this request would represent a disproportionate effort. We do wish to clarify that whilst we consider that your request falls under section 14(1) of the FOI Act, this does not reflect a conclusion that it has been your intention to deliberately place an undue burden on our resources.

 

You have requested ‘…a rail map that shows each signal including depo signals’. As you have not specified a station, we assume your request is for all the maps we hold. Due to the size and complexity of our network, we do not hold a singular document containing all of the signals. With over 450 stations on the services you have requested, locating and collating all of these would be an excessive amount of work. We would also need to divert limited and specialist resources to review this operational material for any potentially exempt material, particularly from a security perspective. We do not consider that the unavoidable burden of fulfilling this request would be reasonable or proportionate to the value in providing it.  

 

On the specific application of section 14(1) we have been steered by the ICO guidance on the use of that exemption that can be found on its website here: https://ico.org.uk/media/1198/dealing-with-vexatious-requests.pdf 

You will note that this guidance includes the following advice to public authorities:

 

“Section 14(1) may be used in a variety of circumstances where a request, or its impact on a public authority, cannot be justified. Whilst public authorities should think carefully before refusing a request as vexatious, they should not regard section 14(1) as something which is only to be applied in the most extreme circumstances”;

 

“The information Commissioner recognises that dealing with unreasonable requests can place a strain on resources and get in the way of delivering mainstream services or answering legitimate requests.”

 

“Burden on the authority: the effort required to meet the request will be so grossly oppressive in terms of the strain on time and resources, that the authority cannot reasonably be expected to comply, no matter how legitimate the subject matter or valid the intentions of the requester”;

 

“Disproportionate effort: the matter being pursued by the requester is relatively trivial and the authority would have to extend a disproportionate amount of resources in order to meet the request.”


The ICO guidance provides the following examples of a ‘fishing expedition’ request which may fall under section 14(1) if it:

- Imposes a burden by obliging the authority to sift through a substantial volume of information to isolate and extract the relevant details;

- Encompasses information which is only of limited value because of the wide scope of the request;

- Creates a burden by requiring the authority to spend a considerable amount of time considering any exemptions and redactions.

Our view is that all three of these examples apply in this instance. 

Please note, were you to choose to submit a new request focusing on specific stations we would need to consider whether one or more exemptions under the FOI Act, including Section 38(1)(b) and Section 24 would be engaged. This is an exemption from disclosing the requested data if such disclosure would adversely affect the safety and security of TfL employees and members of the general public. Disclosure of this information could pose a risk by providing information to those who may wish harm to the network. This may include sites which could be targets of sabotage, risking the physical safety of staff. The safety and security of the public who travel on and the employees who work on our network is something we take very seriously. To clarify we make no suggestion that you would use this information for anything other than your own interests, however a disclosure under FOI is always regarded as a ‘disclosure to the public at large’.

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Tahsin Prima

FOI Case Officer

General Counsel

Transport for London

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