A new report is claiming that overcrowding on the London Underground is at such levels that passengers are having to nerve themselves to use the service, even though traffic has fallen slightly as a result of the recession.

The report, ‘Too close for comfort’, has been compiled for the London Assembly and published by its Transport Committee.

Some of the 700 passengers interviewed spoke of psyching themselves up just for the ‘struggle to clamber on board’, and a psychologist told the Committee that overcrowding is known to have a range of negative effects, including stress, poor productivity and, potentially, poor heart health. He said “it probably would not be advisable”  to travel when overcrowding is at its worst, and four passengers must share each square metre on board.

Although the Underground has never been so busy, it is also undergoing major upgrades and improvements, which often lead to line closures and other disruptions. PPP contractor Tube Lines has warned that some Jubilee Line closures will have to continue well into next year, and the report is highly critical of this.

It says: ‘We found that the culmination of the Jubilee line upgrade has been chaotic, with hastily arranged closures causing unnecessary disruption  and costing venues like The O2 and ExCel hundreds of thousands of pounds. That its completion will now be delayed until at least the third quarter of 2010 is extremely disappointing and deepens our concern that delays to the Jubilee Line programme are affecting the timetable for the upgrade of the Northern line.’

The report goes on to question whether the present method of managing the upgrades, by taking possession mainly at weekends, is more effective than longer blockades would be. It also criticises the quality of replacement bus services provided by TfL.

Tube Lines said: "Overcrowding is clearly an issue of concern. The work we are doing to replace signalling will bring a welcome relief. For the Jubilee line we recognise that weekend shutdowns cause some inconvenience but the long term gain will be worth it.

“75 per cent of our testing is carried out off-site with no disruption to passenger services, but assuring ourselves and London Underground that the system works safely and reliably in-situ is vital and that means carrying out tests on the line. Standard engineering hours simply do not provide sufficient time to carry out the complex data testing. Weekend shutdowns are an efficient way to complete this work. That said, for future upgrades we will work with London Underground to agree how best to carry out this important work while minimising disruption, which may include early weekday shutdowns as on the Victoria line.”