TfL Ref: 1138-1819

Thank you for your email received by us on 24 July 2018 asking for information about describe request.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked for the following:

I am working on a project to assist Autistic people with their unique train travel needs.
As part of this I would like to know which TfL stations are designed and signed to request walking customers “keep left”, and those that “keep right” whilst using the passages, stairs and so forth (but not escalators)

For example, Stratford Station is “Keep Left”. North Greenwich Station is “Keep Right”.

Where stations (such as Seven Sisters) use both, I would like to know which sections are designated with which rule.

I would like all the current details of this for all current London Underground, London Overground, TfL Rail and National Rail stations where Oyster cards are accepted.

I can advise that in reference to the London Overground network, whilst we implement one way systems in our stations as a crowd control measure during disruption, none of our London Overground stations have permanent one way systems in place. Although certain stairways may feature ‘keep left’ and ‘keep right’ signs, we do not hold a definitive list of where these are located on our network.

For Stratford Station, please see the attached ‘Stratford MP Peak One way’ file showing the one way system for TfL Rail services. This is the only formal system we have for stations which are part of the TfL Rail network.

Unfortunately we do not hold the information you have requested for other National Rail stations as these are managed by various rail operating companies that are not part of Transport for London. If you would like to contact these rail operators directly their details can be found via the following link: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/tocs/TrainOperators.aspx Please note that private companies are not legally obliged to respond under the Freedom of Information Act legislation.

We do not hold the information you have requested in relation to London Underground as there isn’t a specific guideline that applies to signage standards used since this is classed as supplementary signage rather than primary wayfinding. An extract from the standards states: ‘Supplementary signs can be distinguished from directional signing in that they do not convey route information. Supplementary signs regulate the actions of both customers and staff to ensure that stations function as safely and as efficiently as possible’.

Whilst there are digital signage schemes for stations in our shared drives, to review these schemes would take a considerable amount of time to locate, retrieve and extract given that that there are 270 Tube stations, which could exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.

To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might also consider limiting your request to a particular period of time, geographical area or specific departments of the organisation.

Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.

Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.

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 as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London

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