Crush shuts one Tube station

London Underground was forced to close and evacuate at least one Tube station every week last year as it struggled to cope with overcrowding.

Of 74 occasions when network bosses shut and emptied stations, all but a few were due to overcrowding, according to Transport for London figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

King's Cross was worst affected, with nine closures where two took place on one day.

Victoria and Oxford Circus were each closed five times because of a surge in passengers. Commuters on the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines suffered an average of one closure a month, as did those on the Central line.

Transport experts warn the problem could get worse because of growing passenger numbers. In 2006, 1bn packed onto the Tube for the first time. The network now carries just over 3m a day on average. Passengers are fearful of serious accidents occurring.

Matt Aston, who uses Bank station, said: "The station was recently evacuated twice in a week after commuters were diverted following a failure on the Jubilee. It was clear staff were completely underprepared and there was a definite sense of panic."

A TfL spokesperson said: "This is why it is vital that we invest to renew the Tube and increase capacity."