d wrote:

I've noticed that lots of the overcrowding issues in stations during
rush hour are due to people bunching up and doing, well,
ridiculous things in public. People slowly meandering across
a foot tunnel, causing everyone behind them to stop and bump into each
other. Mothers dragging their kids along side them,
blocking the two-people-wide passageways.

They are not *blocking* the passageway. They just limit your ability to
walk faster, just as in any other crowded traffic situation. Does it
really matter if you get to the platform 5 seconds later? (The chance
of missing a train due to that delay is less than 5%.) How do you
expect a parent to keep a small child safe in a crowded passageway other
than by holding the child's hand?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)