Request ID: FOI-2267-2122 Date published: 18 January 2022
You asked
Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to request de- identified Tube and Overground Trains dataset (raw data) for academic purposes for 10 Year period i.e. since 2011 – 2021 Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as follows:
• Train routes / Lines
• Trains route / Lines (distance)
• Trains routes / Lines minutes
• Train / Tube service departure time
• Train / Tube service arrival time
• Stations list / Calling points for each route
• Number of services per route per day / week / month
• Cancellations per route / month
• Number of passengers station per day / week / month
• Number of passenger station exit
• Number of service suspensions per day, week, month
• Oyster card users per station per day, week, month
• Paper Ticket users per station per day, week, month
• Station zone
• Passengers station entry (peak)
• Passengers station entry (off - peak)
• Connection links (connecting station / train)
I understand that under the Act I am entitled to a response within 20 working days of your receipt of this request. I appreciate that Some parts of the request may be easier to answer than others. If you find any aspect of this FOI request problematic or require clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me via mobile or e-mail. I would prefer to receive the information electronically in Excel or CSV format. I will be grateful if this information is given on time.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2267-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 4th January 2022 asking for information about the London Overground and London Underground.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“I am writing to request de- identifiedTube and Overground Trains dataset (raw data) for academic purposes for 10 Year period i.e. since 2011 – 2021 Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as follows:
· Train routes / Lines · Trains route / Lines (distance) · Trains routes / Lines minutes · Train / Tube service departure time · Train / Tube service arrival time · Stations list / Calling points for each route · Number of services per route per day / week / month · Cancellations per route / month · Number of passengers station per day / week / month · Number of passenger station exit · Number of service suspensions per day, week, month · Oyster card users per station per day, week, month · Paper Ticket users per station per day, week, month · Station zone · Passengers station entry (peak) · Passengers station entry (off - peak) · Connection links (connecting station / train)”.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. However, in some instances it is not entirely clear what precise information you are after. As an example, when you ask for “Train routes / Lines minutes” it is not clear what “minutes” refers to in this context as it could be read a number of different ways (i.e. the number of minutes it takes a train to complete the route; the number of minutes timetabled; the number of minutes actually operated in practice).
Notwithstanding this point, I am afraid it is nonetheless not possible to address every question asked within the costs limit for responding to FOI cases as set under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 12, TfL is not obliged to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if that information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a cost of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work.
You have asked 17 separate questions, which each apply to two separate services - the London Underground and London Overground. Therefore there are, in effect, 34 separate elements that need addressing. In order to answer within this costs limit this means that each individual element would need to be addressed in 31.8 minutes. This is not feasible given that each question relates to a 10 year period and many of the questions ask for the data to be split further - by day, week, month or by specific line or station.
You may therefore wish to reframe your request to narrow its scope to focus on the information that is of most importance to you. However, before doing so you should review the wealth of information that is already published on the TfL website and elsewhere online. I would in particular point you to the following pages:
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
