The new Victoria line stock has sensitive doors, designed to enhance safety by preventing the train from moving if anything is trapped in the doors.
It turns out, though, that they are so sensitive that pressure on the doors causes the train to remain stationary for several minutes - and in the sardine-tin conditions in which passengers pack into the trains particularly during the peak, that is happening quite frequently.
Management have been trying to come up with a solution. But their best idea so far is that drivers should hold down the button that overrides the sensitive door kit as they pull out fo stations. Excuse us, but doesn;t that override the whole idea?! And doesn't it leave passengers vulnerable to being trapped in doors and dragged along the platform - and drivers vulnerable to getting the blame?!
Perhaps the real solution is to have station staff on the platform!
More staff needed across the whole station
When the Victoria Line mucks up due to faulty doors, which is an almost everyday occurance, we need more than station staff on the platform. The faults usually happen in the peaks, as that's when people trying to board rammed trains are usually straining at the doors as they are closing. In the rush hour, even a two minute delay caused by holding a train means dangerous overcrowding on the platforms. One member of station staff dealing with an already-dangerous situation is not enough. We need staff throughout the entire station to implement crowd control: from the entrance to the station, to the entry gates, the tops of escalators, etc..... Problems like this present a massive argument for increasing staffing levels on a huge scale, in contrast to the savage cull they are proposing.