Central line shut down as commuters hit by latest Tube meltdown

Dick Murray12 April 2012

The entire Central line, used by more than 600,000 passengers a day, was brought to halt this afternoon following a major failure of the signalling system.

This morning ambulances were dispatched after two trains were trapped in the tunnel for up to 50 minutes but medical help was not needed.

In the second failure of the day radio communication between train drivers and the control centre was lost, closing the entire Central line.

Engineers made desperate efforts to get the line back running in time for the evening rush hour.

Problems were first reported just before lunch and the line was suspended between Marble Arch and North Acton because of a signal failure at White City.

Then, two hours later the remainder of the line came to a standstill when the whole communications system shut down.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union said: "The Tube has descended into a state of unprecedented chaos and is now lurching from crisis to crisis on a daily basis.

"Yet more cuts are planned by the Mayor Boris Johnson. a year before the Olympics; he is turning transport in London into an international laughing stock."

This morning passengers were stranded on one train for 50 minutes before being taken to East Acton station. A second train was trapped for 40 minutes before passengers were evacuated at Shepherd's Bush.

The Docklands Light Railway was also suspended between Bank and Canary Wharf and between Tower Gateway and Poplar adding to the travel chaos. This was due to a person under a train at Shadwell.

Central line users were advised to use mainline First Great Western and National Express East Anglia services where Tube tickets were being accepted.

Commuters face horrendous delays to their journeys if the service is not restored in time for the evening rush hour.

It is the latest in a series of catastrophic signalling failures to wreak havoc on the Tube.

The Jubilee line has suffered a series of failures, the latest yesterday, halting sections of the line. The Victoria line was also suspended through central London yesterday due to signal failures.

Last week Boris Johnson asked for a report to be on his desk by the end of Friday after the Jubilee line was hit by severe disruption, capping what unions said was the worst week of delays so far this year on the Tube.

A Transport for London spokesperson said: "The Central line is currently suspended due to problems with the radio communications system, which is disrupting communication between drivers and the control centre.

"Our engineers are on site investigating and working hard to fix the problem as quickly as possible. We are sorry for the inconvenience that this may be causing our customers."

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