Action urged over 'bogus Tube information'
A union has demanded action from London Underground against "bogus Tube service information".
RMT said a "catalogue of abuse of service information" had led directly to threats against staff.
It said the underground had misled passengers by saying there was a good service when most of the line was delayed but one part was running well.
London Underground (LU) said it provided "timely and accurate real-time information" for passengers and staff.
The union also said LU had refused to put out information that a line was suspended when a parallel line was running ok, for example the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines.
It also said minor delays were being reported when there was severe delays or even no service and that it changed service messages far too quickly after an incident.
According the union, these have caused overcrowding because passengers were not being told of bad service so were unable to change their travel plans.
It has also caused staff to be threatened and even assaulted because passengers were not being told accurate information, added the union.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Abuse of service information to create a misleading picture as to what is running and what isn't immediately throws our members on the stations and platforms into a confrontational situation as angry passengers realise they have been misled.
"We are calling for an end to this practice.
"You cannot cover up the impact of cuts to jobs and finances by throwing up a barrage of misinformation.
"It might suit the politicians and the senior managers but it's front line staff who are left to take the flack at station level."
Howard Collins, chief operating officer for LU said: "It is completely wrong to suggest we provide misleading or inaccurate information, or that there is any evidence this is leading to violence against Tube staff."
He said real-time information had recently been improved, with services such as Twitter updates and apps.
"We know this real-time information is valued by our customers and we have recently improved it, to make it more detailed and relevant to our customers.
"For example, if there is good service on one branch of a line but minor delays on another, we can now show that."