d wrote:
That was not the subject if complaint. The point is that a platform
approaching congestion is not of itself a reason for emergency
clearance. Further entry should be blocked but there is not an
imminent emergency which requires evacuation.

That's not what he was saying. He was pointing out that people act like
asses on the tube. And he's right - they'll do the most ridiculous things.
Standing so the platform is blocked is dangerous, as people trying to get by
can accidentally force people, or be forced, onto the track. Stopping
people from entering the station doesn't help at all - people will keep
pushing down towards the platforms, and if the volume of trains isn't
sufficient to remove people from the platform to counter the crush, people
will end up on the track. Not to mention if there was a fire. Evacuations
without the risk of death are always preferrable to those with.

While I agree in general that stopping people entering an Underground
station wouldn't avoid the risk of dangerous congestion, the OP was
talking about the KXSP Metropolitan line station. This is an unusual
case, in that the ticket barrier does directly control platform access
and so closing the barrier would have addressed the risk adequately.

It would be perfectly reasonable for LUL to have a system-wide rule to
avoid ambiguity, saying that in such cases the station must be closed,
rather than either relying on staff judgement or having an enormously
complicated set of station-by-station closure criteria. However, as
with the enforcement of the non-smoking rule on open-air LUL ex-BR
stations[*], it's also reasonable for people to get a bit frustrated
when there seems to be no justification for the rule's applicaiton in a
particular situation.

(see also endless discussions about fare-dodgers vs honest passengers
forced to miss their train because they're not allowed through the
barriers)
[*] I'm thinking of the late 1980s when the rule was introduced and
when smoking outside of enclosed spaces was generally considered
acceptable, here. I'm aware attitudes have now changed so that even
smoking in a bus queue is frowned upon...

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org