Crowd control and station closures

[deltic]

I was at the Jubilee Pagent on Sunday and at the end joined the throngs heading towards Westminster tube only to find it shut - due to road closures there was no where to turn back and the crowd became completely gridlocked hemmed in by crash barriers. It was a quite disturbing situation with the police showing no interest in the matter despite many people in the crowd asking them to sort the situation out.

Station closures almost seem to be the done thing now when dealing with crowds, despite the fact that Westminster is quite a large station with around 40tph going through it and so should be easily able to handle 10-20,000 passengers an hour, far more than those wanting to use it. Are station closures to common at big events and should more effort by made in keeping them open?

Crowd control at the whole event was dire but that's another matter.

 

[Dstock7080]

I was at the Jubilee Pagent on Sunday and at the end joined the throngs heading towards Westminster tube only to find it shut - due to road closures there was no where to turn back and the crowd became completely gridlocked hemmed in by crash barriers. It was a quite disturbing situation with the police showing no interest in the matter despite many people in the crowd asking them to sort the situation out.

Station closures almost seem to be the done thing now when dealing with crowds, despite the fact that Westminster is quite a large station with around 40tph going through it and so should be easily able to handle 10-20,000 passengers an hour, far more than those wanting to use it. Are station closures to common at big events and should more effort by made in keeping them open?

Crowd control at the whole event was dire but that's another matter.

Closure information was available on the TfL information pages and at station entrance posters/electronic boards:

Major works and events

Information about service changes required for upgrade works and major events. Includes driving, walking and cycling as well as public transport

tfl.gov.uk

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I was at the Jubilee Pagent on Sunday and at the end joined the throngs heading towards Westminster tube only to find it shut ...

Technically only "open" for interchange purposes after 10 a.m., so yes, to all intents and purposes, shut. Guessing that many heading that way after the Jubilee Pageant simply weren't aware of the closure. Believe that the nearby St. James's Park station was also similarly closed.

 

[Dstock7080]

Believe that the nearby St. James's Park station was also similarly closed.

St. James’s Park was closed all day Saturday, open Sunday until 22.25

 

[deltic]

The question is why are so many stations shut, especially stations such as Westminster which can handle large crowds of people safely - instead people are funneled into more crowded areas with street closures and barriers with greater risks for peoples' safety.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Believe that the nearby St. James's Park station was also similarly closed.

St. James’s Park was closed all day Saturday, open Sunday until 22.25

​

The tfl link that you kindly provided upthread in post #2 seemed to suggest otherwise (extract appended below), but thanks for clarifying if their info was, in fact, wrong.

Extract...

St James's Park​

From 13:00 on Sunday: this station will be closed.