Transport chaos hits Wharf rush hour commuters
Commuters were hit by a meltdown of transport to Canary Wharf this morning with both the Jubilee line and DLR hit by problems.
A signal failure at Canada Water saw the Jubilee line suspended between London Bridge and Canary Wharf at the peak of rush hour, while Bank station shut because of overcrowding.
The DLR and all other lines were suspended at around 8.30am, first following a power failure and then because of high passenger numbers, which led to the station being evacuated.
Passengers were advised to walk to Tower Gateway to pick up the DLR there, only to find themselves turned away from there by police because of overcrowding.
It left thousands of irate commuters looking for alternatives to get to Canary Wharf.
One commuter at Tower Gateway, who asked not to be named, said: "It's a disaster. Nobody seems to know what's going on and nobody seems to be talking to each other. We were moved out of Bank station and told to come here only for the police to stop us getting on the trains.
"But the trains are running and there's no alternative to get to Canary Wharf with the Jubilee line down as well. It's disgraceful."
The Jubilee line was suspended at 8.30am but is now running again.
Ben Pennington, a spokesman for Transport for London, said: "The signal failed at 8.20am and we tried to run trains through but without success. It was suspended at 8.30am and Tube Lines engineers attended at 9 o'clock to work on the problem.
"The delays on the DLR were caused by overcrowding at Bank station. The station was cleared for safety reasons but the DLR is working now.
"We would like to apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience caused."
Older/Newer
« Geoff's linking The O2 to London | West Ham's accounts show spending 'unsustainable' »
7 Comments
Leave a comment
Read The Wharf E-Edition
What about these miraculous three car trains which are meant to be in operation on the DLR? Surely if three car trains had been running, there would have been no need to shut Bank Station due to overcrowding.
I've just got in to work at C Wharf, I left my flat in Kilburn at 8.15, most music bands would be happy to draw a crowd the size of the one at Tower Gateway, crazy times.
They are in operation and have been for the last month.
Have been in operation for the last month? I don't think so. I use the DLR at least 5 times a week. There only seems to be one three car train in operation. The remainder are still two car.
And London is due to host the Olympics? If TFL can't get people to work on a normal Tuesday morning, there is no way London's transport will cope with millions of sports fans. Its beyond a joke...
If Carl doesn't leave his flat until 8:15 then he shouldn't be surprised to find stations crowded. Get up earlier and get to work at a decent hour. The problem with people in this country (from a US perspective) is that you want everything handed to you on a plate. As if someone, the government perhaps, owes you a living. Get real. It's not far to walk from Tower Gateway to Canary Wharf, maybe half hou, 40 minutes max. Transport problems are rarely an excuse for late arrival, you just need to paln better. Most Brits wouldn't last a day in the US workplace!
David, maybe we should leave our houses at 5am every morning to avoid the rush hour?! That would justify London underground's gross incompetence and mismanagement of the whole network. For your info, London underground came last in a recent survey of transport networks in European cities. That explains a lot. the govt sure owes us a lot given the ridiculously high taxes we pay and the extremely appalling service we receive. Get a life.