Frustrating delays hit Piccadilly line

Leaves on the line damage wheels of Tube trains

PASSENGERS have been facing painful journeys into work as severe Tube delays have once again hampered the running of the Piccadilly Line.

In a problem which stretches back to the middle of last month, Transport for London (TfL) says a number of its trains have been pulled out of service for repairs to its wheels, meaning a full fleet is unavailable.

TfL has been advising users to expect delays of up to 20 minutes on the Uxbridge branch and 15 minutes elsewhere on the line.

It also says London Underground tickets can be used on buses between Russell Square and Manor House.

TfL expects the disruption to continue through next week, but does have a refund policy.

A spokesman said: “Customers using the Piccadilly line who have had their journeys delayed by 15 minutes or more will be refunded the full cost of the single fare for each affected journey. Refunds will be backdated to Thursday November 24.

“For Oyster users, refunds will be applied automatically when the card is touched in or out on the ticket gate at their selected station.

“For Contactless payment, users will have the amount refunded directly to their bank or credit card account.

“Due to the volume of refunds to be processed, it will take some days for the refund to appear.”

TfL said that the damage to the wheels have occurred due to leaves on the line but, with two colder evenings recently, most of the leaves have now fallen, which should mean that fewer trains will become damaged.

The spokesman said: “We will be able to return more trains to the line each day – however, there is a backlog of trains.

“We are working to restore a full timetabled service as quickly as possible.

“In the meantime we are running a service to all destinations on the line and supplementing the Acton Town to Rayners Lane branch with additional bus services to make sure that customers can still get around London.

“We’ve also arranged for ticket acceptance on local bus services and National Rail services.

Many commuters took to Twitter to vent their anger.

Bea wrote: “Lots of fed up commuters and some rather aggressive ones – third week running!!”

Helen S wrote: “Damn it, I just missed the tube and I don’t know when the next one is coming... stupid severe delays on @piccadillyline.”

Martyna tweeted: “Waiting 20 minutes at Hounslow West for eastbound Piccadilly Line. The worst underground line ever!!”