Faults plague Tube radio system

Passengers faced severe delays in the morning rush-hour

A new £2bn digital Tube radio system has had more than 100 faults in the past two months, BBC London has found.

The Connect system, which links station depots and control centres on the London Underground (LU) network, has led to whole lines being shut down.

A spokesman for LU said the majority of faults have had no effect on services on the Tube.

The lack of radio communication underground was heavily criticised after the 7 July bombings.

The Connect system is separate to the radio system used by emergency services which is designed to 'piggy back' the Tube's radio system.

But the series of faults have raised questions about what would happen during a serious incident if the Connect system failed.

Internal report

Some of the faults have been relatively minor such as handset failure.

But others led to a whole line being suspended, causing serious disruption to passengers.

No-one has any confidence in the system at all Tube driver

Three weeks ago, the Central Line was shut down during rush hour when the radio system failed.

An internal report seen by BBC London shows LU started an incident investigation in August about a radio failure on the District line.

Tube drivers said they have no confidence in the system and have concerns about safety.

'Potentially life threatening'

One said that in some cases drivers can end up talking to the wrong control rooms.

One driver said: "No-one has any confidence in the system at all.... Potentially it could be life threatening. It's ill thought out and doesn't work properly. In some cases drivers are talking to the wrong control centres."

Another driver said: "You could be stuck in a tunnel without knowing what's going on. If there was an emergency, control can't convey it to you. You could have a fire and take the train into the platform. You need communication."

A spokesman for LU said: "The majority of the Connect issues raised through LU's daily reporting system have no effect on Tube service, but instead include issues such as the volume control of handsets being too loud.

"London Underground launched a formal investigation after three failures, involving the Connect system, occurred in August this year.

"The investigation is ongoing, but measures have already been put in place to address issues raised.