FOI Request - London Underground Network Control Centre
Request ID: FOI-2304-2324 Date published: 23 October 2023
You asked
F/on from FOI-0920
Dear Transport for London,
I am writing to request a copy of Transport for London's (TfL's) emergency procedures under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Specifically, I am interested in the following:
• All emergency procedures currently in place on the London Underground network, including procedures for dealing with incidents such as fires, explosions, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters.
• All emergency procedures currently in place on TfL's other transport modes, such as buses, trains, and trams.
• All emergency procedures currently in place at TfL's facilities, such as stations, depots, and offices.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-2304-2324/GH Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 4 October 2023 asking for information about Transport for London's (TfL's) emergency procedures. You asked:
I am writing to request a copy of Transport for London's (TfL's) emergency procedures under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Specifically, I am interested in the following:
All emergency procedures currently in place on the London Underground network, including procedures for dealing with incidents such as fires, explosions, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters.
All emergency procedures currently in place on TfL's other transport modes, such as buses, trains, and trams. All emergency procedures currently in place at TfL's facilities, such as stations, depots, and offices.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. However, the information you have requested above is exempt from disclosure under sections 24 - national security and 38(1)(b) – health and safety of the FOI Act. 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 and other transport modes. The public transport 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 the transport network and would place members of the public and TfL staff at risk by highlighting areas on the network which could be susceptible to being targeted. Further, there is no meaningful way in which the material can be redacted. While some sentences or passages may appear innocuous in isolation, taken together across the suite of documents it would still allow somebody to build up a detailed picture of operational processes and the language used in the operation of the network.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has previously issued a Decision Notice regarding the application of sections 24 and 38 to withhold information in relation to security at transport hubs. Whilst the information requested in this case is different to the information you have requested, we believe the same arguments can be applied:
The use of these exemptions are 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, and acknowledge that there may be some interest in the information in question. However, as we believe this information could potentially be obtained and utilised by individuals who may wish to use it to cause disruption or harm to London’s transport infrastructure, in this instance we believe that minimising the risk to that infrastructure and protecting the safety and welfare of members of the general public and our staff outweighs the limited public interest in disclosure. 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
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
