Jubilee Line disruption after fire alert at Bond Street - delays across Tube line
THE Jubilee Line was hit by severe delays after a fire alert at Bond Street, causing travel chaos for London commuters just before the morning rush hour, with firefighters earlier evacuating 59 people and treating four for smoke inhalation.
Problems subsequently spread to the Docklands Light Railway as commuters sought other ways to get to work to avoid the disruption affecting the whole of the Jubilee line.
After the initial incident, just before 6am, passengers were forced to walk through the Tube from Baker Street to Bond Street after what Transport for London (TfL) described as a "track fault".
Emergency services were called to both Bond and Baker Street stations, with London Fire Brigade later confirmed the cause as a "mechanical failure".
In a series of tweets, TfL's official Jubilee Line Twitter feed said: "All emergency services onsite at Bond Street and Baker Street, customers on train will be walked back to Bond Street. Investigations remain ongoing. Update to follow.
"No service between Finchley Road and Waterloo while we respond to a fire alert."
"Tickets accepted on London Buses and DLR. Severe delays on the rest of the line."
Just after 7am, it added: "We still have no service Finchley Road-Waterloo & severe delays on the rest of the line, while we fix a track fault at Bond Street.
"Please make alternate journeys where possible & avoid Canada Water station which will be very busy. We'll keep you updated.
We apologise to customers on the train for any distress this incident may have caused
A spokeswoman told Express.co.uk: “We apologise to customers on the train for any distress this incident may have caused and for the disruption to customer journeys this morning.
"Engineers are currently on site at Bond Street to fix the issue and we hope to resume services as soon as possible."
As of 8.20am, the problems were ongoing, TfL confirmed in a subsequent tweet, with one commuter responding by describing the situation as "chaos".
Just after 9.30, a tweet sent from TfL's DLR feed said: "We're sorry, there's now severe delays between Bank and Poplar/Canary Wharf due to crowding caused by disruption on the Jubilee line."
By 11am the situation had improved somewhat, but travellers were still affected by minor delays, another TfL tweet said, before normal service eventually resumed at 2.15pm.
Similar disruption then impacted trains between Bank and Woolwich Arsenal and Tower Gateway and Beckton - although normal service was resumed just before 10am.
Tickets were being accepted on London Buses, Southeastern, Thameslink and the DLR, with a huge impact on commuters during the peak rush-hour period.
London Bridge was briefly made "exit only" just before 9am to prevent overcrowding, with travellers urged to use alternative stations wherever possible.
An LFB spokesman said it was called to the scene at 5.54am and made the situation safe by 7.18, with four fire engines and 25 firefighters from Soho, Paddington and North Kensington attending.
He added: "The smoke is believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure.
"Crews evacuated 59 people from the tube train via the tunnel. Four people were treated at the scene for shortness of breath by London Ambulance Service crews."
The Jubilee line, which runs from Stanmore to Stratford is the newest on the London Underground network, opening in 1979, although some stations date back to 100 years earlier.
It is also the third busiest on the London Underground network, after the Northern and Central lines, with 213 million passenger journeys annually.