Thursday, December 26, 2024

Elizabeth line suspended as London Underground faces severe delays

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Commuters have faced travel chaos on the London Underground this morning (26 November), with three major Tube lines delayed or suspended.

Passengers on the Elizabeth line will have encountered the most problems with their journeys.

No service is currently running between Paddington and Abbey Wood due to a “signalling systems fault”.

There are “severe delays” on the rest of the Elizabeth line, including to Heathrow Terminal 5, say Transport for London (TfL).

TfL have also reported that the Metropolitan line is partially suspended, with no service between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Watford as staff respond to a gas leak.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of Storm Bert, the Northern line is also experiencing minor delays between Camden Town and Battersea Power Station due to “difficult track conditions caused by significant leaf fall”.

Hundreds of thousands of travellers could not complete their journeys around the UK at the weekend due to severe disruption caused by Storm Bert.

Key rail links were closed, and around 400 flights serving UK airports were either cancelled or diverted on Sunday.

Tickets are being accepted on alternative London Underground routes, local buses and the London Overground.

Elsewhere, a defective track has caused “significant delays” between Gatwick Airport and Purley due to an imposed speed restriction.

Gatwick Express services are suspended until further notice, with passengers advised: “Allow an extra 20 minutes to complete your journey, utilise exiting advice and ticket acceptance, and check station screens and planners for the latest information.”

National Rail said the disruption is set to last until 1pm.

Last week, it was revealed that most of Britain’s busiest stations are stops along the Elizabeth line.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, London Liverpool Street handled the highest number of passengers: an estimated 94.5 million travellers entered or left the station – an average of 260,000 per day. Liverpool Street is a key station on the east-west Elizabeth line as well as the hub for trains to and from East Anglia.

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