§ Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Who is responsible for monitoring standing passenger congestion on trains and what is the scope and frequency for such checks.
§ Baroness HaymanLondon commuter services are subject to objective measurement of overcrowding, and must comply with specified standards. The franchise operator will be required to carry out at least one passenger count each year on the relevant services in a manner approved by the Franchising Director. Following any such count, the franchise operator must inform the Franchising Director of his expectations of demand, and of his general plans for peak period timetables and train plans which would enable the standards to be met, assuming similar demand levels over the following 18 months.
In addition, all franchise operators have a general obligation to use reasonable endeavours to provide sufficient capacity for the carriage of passengers without excessive overcrowding.