Tube passengers are facing another painful journey into work as severe Tube delays once again hamper the running of the Piccadilly Line.
In a problem which stretches back to the middle of last month (November) , 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.
It is 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.
Needless to say, the long-suffering commuters are pretty peeved, with many expressing their frustration on Twitter.
So if you’re struggling into work this morning, keep up with the latest Piccadilly line delays on our live blog.
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Severe delays continue
The Piccadilly line has now said delays are expected to be from 15 to 25 minutes on the line
A time for humour?
Whilst delays start to hit the rush hour commute, there is mixed reaction from passengers:
Update
The Piccadilly line is experiencing severe delays.
TfL has had to take some Piccadilly line trains out of service to repair their wheels, which means that it does not have a full fleet available.
London Underground tickets will be accepted on local buses, Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway, South West Trains, Great Northern and London Overground Customers for stations between Ealing Common and Rayners Lane should change at Acton Town.
Customers for stations between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge should use Metropolitan line services. A shuttle train service operates between Acton Town and Rayners Lane and a bus service operates between Acton Town and Rayners Lane calling at Hanger Lane for the Central line instead of Park Royal which is nearby.
Refunds
TfL has a refund policy.
According to its website, it states:
If your journey was delayed for reasons within our control by:
- 15 minutes or more on Tube and DLR services
- 30 minutes or more on London Overground or TfL Rail services
We’ll refund you the single fare for the journey you were delayed on.
You can’t get a refund for a delay if:
- You use a card or ticket to travel for free
- The delay is caused by planned changes to a service or planned engineering work
- The delay is caused by something outside of our control, such as:
- A security alert
- A customer incident, eg a person falling ill on a train
- Adverse weather conditions
- Strike action
Status update
As we approach the evening rush hour, the Piccadilly line is still reporting severe delays on its service.
All other lines are reporting a good service.
Tube strikes suspended
As a reminder, the planned strikes on the Piccadilly, as well as the Hammersmith and City and Circle lines today have been suspended.
Talks held at the conciliation service Acas between the two parties “were successful”, according to RMT, who said “heavy handed and aggressive management” was their reason to strike.
Drivers had planned to walkout from 9.30pm, but general secretary for RMT union Mick Cash said negotiations went well.
He said: “Talks with London Underground have proved to be positive and focused and as a result we have been able to make enough significant progress to allow us to suspend the strike action in both disputes that was scheduled for tomorrow evening.
Night tube
How will the severe delays impact the Night Tube on the Piccadilly line?
The new service is due to launch on Friday December 16.
Piccadilly line services will be running just in time for Christmas between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5, but there will not be 24-hour services for Terminal 4, or between Acton Town and Uxbridge.
The Jubilee line launched 24-hours a day last month along the entire line from Stanmore to Stratford.
Trains run every 10 minutes through Harrow , Brent and Westminster.
Delays all day
Replying to another rail passenger on Twitter, the Piccadilly line account has said:
Hi, we’re currently operating with severe delays and will last all day. Please allow plenty of time to travel. Thanks
Lack of information
Taking to Twitter, the Piccadilly line account said: “Trains are running - usually up to 15 minutes apart on the Heathrow branch. Best to allow plenty of time for your journey.”
In another Twitter reply, it stated: “I wish I had more exact, concise info to provide but don’t have this, sorry.”
'Week of hell'
The frustration from commuters and rail passengers is understandable, with many demanding to get more information
15 minute wait
Severe disruption remains in place on the Piccadilly line but a good service is reported on all other lines.
TfL said there is around a 15 minute wait for trains.
Refunds
TfL expects the disruption to continue through next week and does have a refund policy.
It states:
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.
When will it end?
The TfL said that with two colder evenings recently, most of the leaves have now fallen.
This should mean that fewer trains will become damaged. 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 - 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.
Fixing the problem
This is what the TfL has to say about fixing the issue:
We’re working around the clock at our Piccadilly line depots to fix the wheels so that we can return to a good service as quickly as possible. We are also transferring trains to depots on other lines to provide extra locations to fix the wheels. This means we are currently putting around two trains back in service each day.
Although the team are working hard to replace the wheels, there is currently a backlog of wheel repairs due to the high levels of faults. Fixing your service is our priority and our teams will continue to work around the clock until we can run a good service on the line again.
Not amused
Lots of people are taking to social media to express their anger at the delays
@TfL waiting 20 minutes at hounslow west for eastbound Piccadilly line. The worst underground line ever!!!!
— Martyna (@Martyna9244) December 6, 2016
Why is the Piccadilly line so badly affected?
The TfL said the Piccadilly line trains are among the oldest on the network
It goes on to say:
Our newer trains have technology which reduces the impact of braking over leaves and in cold, wet weather.
Some areas of the Piccadilly line are also particularly surrounded by leaf-shedding trees, particularly on the Rayners Lane branch and between Oakwood/Cockfosters, so the problem is more pronounced here.
Blame Storm Angus...
According to the TfL website, this is the issue and why the delays have now become a common factor for commuters:
Around this time of year we tend to experience problems with wheels on some trains. Areas of the tracks become slippery due to large quantities of leaf fall, and cold or wet weather. On slippery tracks the Piccadilly line train wheels can lock when braking, causing ‘flats’ to form. This damages both the wheels and the track.
In order to repair the wheels we have had to take a large number of Piccadilly line trains out of service.
Following similar issues last year we carried out full leaf clearance on the line, vegetation management, and enforced speed restrictions to reduce wheel problems.
The longer leaf-fall period this year, coupled with the bad weather caused by Storm Angus, created conditions that caused a higher than usual proportion of our trains to be affected within a very short space of time.
Why are there long-running problems on the Piccadilly line?
TfL explain: “We are sorry for the current disruption to customers using the Piccadilly line. This is due to a longer than usual period of leaf-fall, which has damaged the wheels of many of our trains. 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 service as quickly as possible.”
Spare a thought for Southern Rail passengers too
Because it’s not just Piccadilly Line commuters feeling the pain. Long-suffering Southern Rail users have a string of strike dates to look forward to in the run-up to Christmas, and again in the new year.
Some good news this morning
In case you missed it, there was a sliver of good news for Piccadilly line commuters, though they may see it differently.
The 24-hour Tube strike was ditched after progress was made between the rail union RMT and TfL.
'We want TfL answers'
Despite TfL earlier pledging to return to a good service asap, this Twitter user doesn’t think they’re being totally honest
More from TfL
It is advising its customers to allow extra time for their journeys, or consider using alternative routes. TfL say: “We are working around the clock to make the wheels safe, so that we can return to a good service as quickly as possible”
No end in sight to delays
According to TfL, more and ore trains are being brought back into service every day, but the delays are expected to ‘go on a while longer yet’
The delays
TfL say there is a 20 minute delay on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line, and 15 minutes throughout the rest of the service
