§ Mr. DobsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what simulated tests were made by London Underground Ltd of evacuation of a full length tube train carrying a rush hour overload in a single line tunnel and supervised by a single member of the railway staff, prior to the extension of one person operation; and if he will list any such occasions since that adoption, carried out in the course of an exercise or in an emergency.
§ Mr. Portillo[holding answer 26 April 1989]: No simulated evacuations with a rush hour overload have been carried out, though exercises with non-capacity loadings have been undertaken from time to time, most 13W recently at Aldwych in summer 1988. London Underground Ltd. assures me that train operators have been, and will continue to be, trained in the techniques of evacuation. It tells me, too, that modifications are in progress to prevent the automatic application of train brakes when the passenger-operated alarm system is used, thereby minimising the risk of trains stopping away from stations in an emergency.