Please can you give me a breakdown, by month, for the period jan 2015 until October 2020, of noise complaints for the Victoria Line from King's Cross to Highbury and Islington and Highbury and Islington to King's Cross. If possible please can you give the location as accurate as possible of these noise complaints. Can you also please provide information on the material of the sleepers on this part of this track and any future plans to reduce noise on this part of the track. Please can you also provide accurate mapping of where the Victoria Line tunnels run in relation to properties overground and the depth of these tunnels and any related maintenance and ventilation tunnels. Also any further information you may have on noise readings for this area. (this is for the section of line between King's Cross and Highbury and Islington)

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TfL Ref: FOI-1392-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 20 October 2020.

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

Please can you give me a breakdown, by month, for the period Jan 2015 until October 2020, of noise complaints for the Victoria Line from King's Cross to Highbury and Islington and Highbury and Islington to King's Cross.

If possible please can you give the location as accurate as possible of these noise complaints.

Please find the information in the tables below;

Number of complaints from King's Cross to Highbury & Islington.
	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Jan	0	3	1	0	0	1
Feb	0	2	1	1	2	15
Mar	0	0	2	0	0	14
Apr	1	0	1	1	3	0
May	0	1	0	0	5	2
Jun	0	3	3	0	4	0
Jul	0	0	0	1	0	0
Aug	0	1	1	1	3	1
Sep	1	2	0	2	1	2
Oct	0	1	1	1	6	-
Nov	0	1	0	1	3	-
Dec	1	1	0	1	2	-

Number of noise and vibration complaints by year, month and postcode area from King's Cross to Highbury & Islington.
Year	Month	Postcode Area	Count
2015	Apr	N1 0	1
	Sep	N1 0	1
	Dec	N1 2	1
2016	Jan	N1 0	1
		N1 1	2
	Feb	N1 0	1
		N1 2	1
	May	N1 1	1
	Jun	N1 0	2
		N1 2	1
	Aug	N1 9	1
	Sep	N1 1	1
		N1 2	1
	Oct	N1 1	1
	Nov	N1 0	1
	Dec	N1 0	1
2017	Jan	N1 1	1
	Feb	N1 9	1
	Mar	N1 2	2
	Apr	N1 0	1
	Jun	N1 0	3
	Aug	N1 0	1
	Oct	N1 2	1
2018	Feb	N1 9	1
	Apr	N1 2	1
	Jul	N1 0	1
	Aug	N1 9	1
	Sep	N1 1	2
	Oct	N1 0	1
	Nov	N1 0	1
	Dec	N1 9	1
2019	Feb	N1 1	1
		N1 9	1
	Apr	N1 0	2
		N1 1	1
	May	N1 0	4
		N1 1	1
	Jun	N1 0	3
		N1 2	1
	Aug	N1 0	3
	Sep	N1 1	1
	Oct	N1 0	2
		N1 1	1
		N1 2	3
	Nov	N1 0	1
		N1 2	2
	Dec	N1 1	1
		N1 2	1
2020	Jan	N1 0	1
	Feb	N1 0	2
		N1 1	11
		N1 2	2
	Mar	N1 0	3
		N1 1	11
	May	N1 1	1
		N1 2	1
	Aug	N1 0	1
	Sep	N1 0	1
		N1 9	1

Note: months with 0 complaints are not shown.

Can you also please provide information on the material of the sleepers on this part of this track and any future plans to reduce noise on this part of the track.

The current sleepers are made of hardwood timber. Future track component specification for this location hasn’t been agreed yet, however the noise reduction performance will be a significant factor in the selection process.

Please can you also provide accurate mapping of where the Victoria Line tunnels run in relation to properties overground and the depth of these tunnels and any related maintenance and ventilation tunnels. Also any further information you may have on noise readings for this area. (this is for the section of line between King's Cross and Highbury and Islington).

Please see below a basic map of the area in question.

The tunnel depths in this Victoria line section are approximately 17 metres below the surface.

Whilst we are disclosing the above map, we are not obliged to supply more detailed information concerning London Underground tunnels, depths and ventilation shafts as it is subject to statutory exemptions to the right of access to information, under regulation 12(5)(a) of the EIR. Releasing this information could adversely affect the safety and security of the general public. Whilst we make no suggestion that you would use this information for anything other than you own personal interest, disclosure of this information to you has to be regarded as a disclosure to ‘the public at large’.

This information could potentially be obtained and utilised by individuals who may wish to use this information to cause disruption or harm to the London Underground network. The London Underground system is an attractive terrorist target for several reasons including, its importance to London and the knock on effect to the nation’s economy if it is disrupted, the publicity gained from attacking an iconic transport system and the attractiveness of the system for a mass casualty attack due to its open, mass transport nature. It is also part of the nation’s critical infrastructure by virtue of its central importance to the functioning of London and its economy. Disclosure of information could compromise security and safety preparedness on London Underground’s network and would place members of the public and TfL staff at risk by highlighting areas on the Victoria line which could be susceptible to being targeted.

The use of this exception is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance the public interest in applying the exemption, in order to minimise risks to operational resilience, safe operation of the London Underground network, the welfare of staff and members of the general public, outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Furthermore, you asked for “any further information you may have on noise readings for this area”. Unfortunately, in order to respond to this part of your request, we require more information in order to identify the information you are interested in.  In this instance, we cannot be expected to make the decision as to what information will be of relevance to you and what will not.

If you are considering submitting a further request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

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

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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