Piccadilly line strike: Tube passengers battle panic attacks and endure 'dangerous' overcrowding in rush hour chaos

Thousands of commuters were left stranded in tunnels and on “dangerously” packed platforms at the height of the rush hour today as a strike on the Piccadilly Line unleashed chaos on the capital.

Massive crushing at Victoria Station forced an emergency evacuation with passengers trapped underground for up to 40 minutes , while crowd control measures also had to be activated at Green Park.

Commuters described frightening scenes at Victoria as they battled to escape tunnels and stairwells. The confusion was worsened by the closure of station escalators to the District and Circle Lines.

One passenger said he was on the brink of a panic attack before being evacuated by staff while another said the queues to exit Victoria wwere “longer than Dover after no deal Brexit.”

Another person said: “Fun and games at Victoria Station this morning. Over 40 mins waiting to get in the station and now station is being evacuated. Avoid.”

Victoria station suffered an escalator fault on Thursday morning
Ahmed Kazmi/@DrAhmedKazmi

Office manager Belinda Collins, 26, was evacuated from the tunnel after nearly 40 minutes underground.

She said: “It was quite a relief but more of a pain knowing that I’ve wasted all that time underground and now I’m having to walk to work because the bus is so chaotic.”

One passenger said he was on the brink of a panic attack before being evacuated

Other Tube lines and stations were also far busier than usual with thousands of passengers using alternative routes for their journeys to work.

The 48 hour strike, which began yesterday afternoon, was called by the RMT union after the breakdown of last ditch talks with Underground bosses earlier this week. There will be little or no service on the line until Friday afternoon.

Commuters face further delays to services today and Friday

It will be immediately followed by a second five-hour strike from 8.30pm that will cripple Night Tube services and effectively take the disruption into a fourth day.

Tourists said they faced a “dreadful” welcome to London as the strike caused transport misery for people arriving at Heathrow, where the chaos was compounded by a failure of flight information screens.

Passengers arriving at London’s busiest airport faced paying for taxis or a £25 ticket for the Heathrow Express to Paddington in order to get into central London.

Scott Emminger, 51, flew in to Heathrow from Indiana to visit his son who is stationed as an air force pilot in Kings Cross.

He said: “We’re nearing the end of a very long 24 hour day...My son is stationed here as a fighter pilot and he might have to fly in to pick us up at this rate.”

Writer and activist Nimco Ali was hit by the strikes coming into Heathrow airport from New York. She said: “Both the Heathrow Express and the TfL trains were packed and because they were on the same platform meant it got a little dangerous.

“They will have to change the platforms soon or someone will fall in.”

The RMT union said the strikes were provoked by London Underground reneging on promises to make “key safety and operational improvements”.

Its general secretary Mick Cash said: “Tube bosses have wrecked the talks process this week by denying reality and refusing point blank to make serious progress on core issues that have reduced industrial relations on the Piccadilly Line to a powder keg.”

Meanwhile a spokesman for the Mayor Sadiq Khan called the RMT strikes that have afflicted the Piccadilly Line “unnecessary”.

He added: “Over the past two years the number of days lost to strikes on the underground has been reduced by 65 per cent because TfL have engaged in constructive dialogue with the trade unions.

“This unnecessary strike by the RMT on the Piccadilly Line is causing major inconvenience for Londoners and visitors to our city.

“The Mayor is urging the RMT to immediately call off the strike on the Piccadilly Line and get back round the negotiating table - continuing with constructive dialogue rather than unnecessary strikes.”

Nigel Holness, TfL’s Director of Network Operations for London Underground, said: “I apologise to customers who are suffering three days of disruption for no good reason.

“The RMT unilaterally ended discussions at ACAS on Tuesday and made no attempt to engage with us to try and resolve this dispute. “

Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “London businesses feel the impact of every strike and at a time when the overall costs of doing business are rising, that is not good at all.

“The Piccadilly Line also serves our national hub airport – this strike will cause difficulties for business people needing to get to vital trips, while the impression on arriving tourists will be quite negative”.

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