Stalled train adds to Tube misery

Thousands of passengers had to find alternative routes

Thousands of Tube passengers already suffering disruption after the Northern Line derailment have endured more travel misery after another line closed during rush hour.

A stalled train meant a section of the northbound Victoria Line was closed between Victoria and Warren Street stations on Wednesday.

Hundreds of passengers stuck in a tunnel had to be led to the platform at Oxford Circus station through two empty trains.

Victoria Tube station is used by thousands of passengers every day who are coming off main line trains and coaches.

People had to squeeze on to alternative lines and stations in central London were packed, with two having to close temporarily because of overcrowding.

Parts of the Northern Line will remain shut until at least next week while engineers work to repair damage caused when a Tube train derailed on Sunday.

Safety concerns

There are no Northern Line trains running from East Finchley to Euston and between Golders Green and Charing Cross - rail replacement buses are ferrying thousands of passengers to affected stations.

Seven people were taken to hospital and more than 200 had to be led to safety when a carriage derailed and hit the wall as a train pulled into Camden Town.

The crash happened less than 48 hours after a derailment near Hammersmith, in west London.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has called together union leaders and the private companies in charge of maintaining the Tube for a safety summit to try to stave off a drivers' strike.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has given Tube bosses until Friday to answer its safety concerns or face a strike ballot.

Initial findings suggest a broken rail caused the Hammersmith derailment while the Camden incident took place over a set of switching points.

A report into the Camden derailment is expected by the end of November and another into the Hammersmith incident within three weeks.