Request ID: FOI-0921-2324 Date published: 25 July 2023
You asked
Follow-up to FOI-0644-2324:
A breakdown of the number of times each of the Tube station has been closed in Islington, since January 1 2023. Could this be compared to the same six months in 2019.
• Angel
• Archway
• Arsenal
• Caledonian Road
• Farringdon
• Finsbury Park
• Highbury & Islington
• Holloway Road
• Old Street
• Tufnell Park
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0921-2324
Thank you for your request received on 27 June 2023 asking for information about London Underground station closures in Islington.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
As previously advised, stations can close for a variety of reasons including staff shortages in addition to other unforeseen customer or infrastructure issues, such as faults with communications equipment, defective trains, fire alarms being maliciously activated, or other customer incidents. Many of the closures listed in the attached will have only been for a short period. We aim to minimise station closures as much as possible and strive to always exhaust all avenues before making the decision to close a station. However, on some occasions it is unavoidable, and due to safety regulations which require some stations to have a minimum number of staff, we are legally obligated to close the station.
We are aware of the inconvenience that station closures can cause to our customers and only close stations as a last resort, and when we do close them we look to provide onward travel advice to customers (usually directing them to the next nearest open station). We are working to improve the situation, measures being taken include recruiting into roles where recruitment had previously been paused due to the pandemic. On the occasions when we are required to close a station, we will keep stations open according to pre-defined priority criteria, e.g. those with better connectivity to the rest of the TfL and National Rail network or step-free access, by redeploying available station staff to these stations.
Above-ground stations are not subject to the same requirements for minimum staff numbers as underground stations and may be kept open when no staff are available. TfL’s Turn Up and Go service for customers remains available at all stations. If for any reason we cannot offer a physical service, we will make alternative arrangements such as the use of an accessible taxi. Please find the requested information for stations in the London Borough of Islington attached. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
