Row Over Lack Of Staff At Wimbledon Park Tube

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Report reveals it was left unattended 10 times during October

Wimbledon Park station has been highlighted in a report about unstaffed stations on the Transport for London (TfL) network.

The report follows a Freedom for Information request, which has revealed that 10 tube stations were left unattended on occasions during a three month period.

TfL has closed all London Underground ticket offices in recent years, but said all tube stations would remain staffed while services were operating.

However there are 152 stations on the network, including Wimbledon Park, which do not have a legal requirement for staffing because they are essentially 'overground' stations.

A report by the BBC claims Wimbledon Park was left unattended during 10 months during October.

Nigel Holness, LU's Director of Network Operations, said: "Safety is our top priority which is why we plan to have staff at all our stations, covering all hours that a station operates. Following a review of staffing levels we are well underway with our process of putting 325 additional new staff members in our stations.

"On rare occasions, if staff are not available for short periods due to sickness or other unplanned circumstances, an above-ground station may be left unstaffed while another member of staff is allocated."

But National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers' (RMT) General Secretary Mick Cash said: "This is shocking new information which confirms RMT's warnings about the Tube network becoming an increasingly faceless and dangerous place."