FOI request detail

Extended Train Preparation Time - all email and written correspondence since January 2016 to date

Request ID: FOI-3109-1819
Date published: 18 March 2019

You asked

I can confirm that the request is for both internal and external correspondence and information held by TfL concerning the safety and staffing implications on London Underground Ltd of the Extended Train Preparation Time (ETPT) project. The request covers all email and written correspondence and information held by TfL relating to that project since 1 January 2016 to date. This request covers but is not limited to • all internal staffing and safety reports or studies carried out by LUL or TfL regarding the ETPT project; • all external reports or studies commissioned or requested by LUL or TfL, including all correspondence with the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), Quantitative Risk Assessments by the Health and Safety Executive and all other safety assessments, correspondence and supporting documents with any other organisations regarding the ETPT project; • the status of all safety risk assessments of the ETPT project, i.e. which actions have been carried out, which are outstanding and how other actions will be carried out, with all supporting evidence and information; and • all external and internal correspondence and information regarding the impact of the ETPT project on staffing roles/ grades, staff levels, staff shifts/rosters, staff training programmes, plans for introducing the new forms of Train Prep in the ETPT and any proposals for further extensions to train preparation time of the LUL fleet Again, we seek the above information TfL hold for the period 1 January 2016 to date.

We answered

Our Ref:         FOI-3109-1819

Thank you for clarifying your request asking for information about the Extended Train Preparation Time Project.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and TfL’s information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.

Unfortunately, to provide the information you have requested would 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.

We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take over 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.

The Procurement and Commercial Team, TfL Engineering Assurance Team, LU Engineering Team, Asset Operations Fleet Team have all been involved in this project. We have established that the potentially relevant information which we hold covers a significant period of time and comprises of hundreds of potentially relevant emails, all of which would have to be reviewed, along with many other documents held in various separate storage systems by numerous people within TfL.

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. We started engaging with the Trade Unions in October 2017, and have shared a lot of the requested information in the Engineering Quantified Risk Assessments (EQRAs) and engineering reports. We would likely be able to process your request within the appropriate limit if you removed the request for correspondence, or limited the timeframe to, for example, a year or less.

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 Transport for London. 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.

Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does 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.

In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please feel free 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

[email protected]

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