Tube lines remain closed

Two lines have been closed since the derailment

Thousands of commuters in London face further disruption as two underground lines look likely to remain closed until Friday.

An inquiry into the Central Line derailment on Saturday at Chancery Lane Tube station, in which 32 people were injured has begun by the Health and Safety Executive.

The Central and the Waterloo and City lines are likely to stay closed until at least the end of the week, London Underground said.

And commuters heading home on Tuesday found the northbound Victoria line was closed and eastbound Piccadilly line services were disrupted.

Stations closed during the strike

Belsize Park

Borough

Caledonian Road

Chalk Farm

Covent Garden

Edgware Road (Bakerloo Road)

Elephant & Castle

Gloucester Road (Piccadilly line only)

Goodge Street

Hampstead

Holland Park

Holloway Road

Kennington

Lambeth North

Lancaster Gate

Mornington Crescent

Queensway

Regent's Park

Russell Square

Shadwell (peak hours only)

Tufnell Park

Wapping

London Underground said the line was closed to stem overcrowding caused by a signal failure at Finsbury Park in north London.

A further 20 deep-lying stations are closed and services restricted at two stops because of safety concerns during the fire strike which ends on Thursday at 0900 GMT.

The investigation into Saturday's derailment could take up to four weeks.

Trains will not start running again until "detailed discussions" between the HSE and LU have been carried out.

All 85 trains will be examined and the driver, control centre and maintenance staff will also be interviewed.

An estimated 600,000 passengers a day have been displaced by the closure of the Central Line - the longest on the Tube network - and the Waterloo and City Line.

But Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has refused to postpone his scheme to charge £5 to drive into central London until the Tube is running at full capacity.

Safety hotline

At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, he said the closure would not effect the start of congestion charging on 17 February.

He said the level of disruption caused by the derailment experience only proved how important it was to manage congestion properly.

Mr Livingstone, who is offering a confidential hotline for Tube drivers to report safety concerns, said he would increase confidence in the network when he takes control of the Underground.

He said: "I don't think you can say to Londoners they are safe on the Underground, they take a risk every time they get on and that is a disgrace."

There have been very few accidents on London Underground in its 140-year history and Tube managers insist their record is "second to none".