Tube chaos on Piccadilly Line is to continue for weeks in run up to Christmas, TfL confirms

Long wait: Passengers on a Piccadilly Line platform as severe delays hit rush hour on Friday.
MelissaGethinClarke (Twitter)
Francesca Gillett1 December 2016

Tube chaos on the Piccadilly Line is set to continue for weeks hitting passengers with more delays in the run up to Christmas.

Transport for London told the Standard the severe delays and disruption are likely to persist for a fortnight at least while engineers work around the clock to repair damaged trains.

Passengers on the busy Underground line have already faced days of severe delays after bad weather and “wet leaves on the track” damaged train wheels.

Frustrated customers were told to find alternative means of travel as TfL took half of the line’s 79 trains out of service to fix the worn-down wheels.

Hoards: Overcrowding outside Finsbury Park tube station on the Piccadilly Line as the delays hit.
Julia Durbin

On Tuesday a spokesman for TfL told the Standard around two trains are being put back in service on the Piccadilly Line every day.

At this current rate it would take around 19 days to get all of the line’s 39 damaged trains back up and running – meaning delays could last until mid-December.

The TfL spokesman said although the weather is now drier and calmer, November’s bout of heavy rain and wind – including the effects of Storm Angus – led to poor conditions which damaged the trains’ wheels.

Queues: Travel misery on Friday morning as fall-out from Piccadilly Line delays hit Finsbury Park.
Alister Babb (Twitter)

He said engineers are working 24/7 – with some even cancelling their annual leave – to fix the faulty trains.

Last week commuters were hit with travel misery after trains were suspended between Acton Town and Uxbridge and stations along the line were overcrowded.

Crowds were forced to wait outside Finsbury Park station while at Kings Cross passengers struggled to get on the Piccadilly Line platform.

General secretary Mick Cash said the union has been told the problem could “take weeks” to fix properly and the line must be suspended.

Jam packed: Passengers try to get onto the Piccadilly Line platform at Kings Cross.
@JackSerle Twitter

“Trying to do it on the hoof with our members taking the rap is no way to proceed,” he said. “

That's why consideration has to be given to the service being suspended until the trains are repaired and signed off as safe.“

Tony Matthews, General Manager for the Piccadilly line, said: "‎I sincerely apologise to Piccadilly line customers for the ongoing disruption to their journeys.

“The safety of our customers and staff is our number one priority which is why we've had to continue taking some trains out of service to repair their wheels. This means that we do not have a full fleet available to run a good service.

“We will continue working around the clock to repair the wheels so that we can return to giving our customers the high level of service that they deserve as quickly as possible.‎"

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