Major rush hour delays in London with lines suspended across network

Passengers have been hit by major disruption across London on the London Underground, Overground and services to Heathrow Airport.

All trains between Heathrow and central London were suspended for ‘tunnel safety reasons,’ National Rail warned.

Holidaymakers travelling on the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express are affected by severe disruption to and from the airport.

National Rail said: ‘Heathrow tunnel is closed for safety reasons which means trains are unable to run to and from Heathrow Airport.

‘Trains will be cancelled or revised as a result.’

Elizabeth line trains between Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminals 4 and 5 cannot run.

Heathrow Express between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5 are also suspended.

Major disruption is expected until at least 6pm, and trains will be cancelled or revised, it said.

National Rail said the safety issue was caused by a ‘problem with the ventilation system in Heathrow tunnels,’ so trains cannot run until ‘Network Rail has resolved this issue.’

The London Underground Piccadilly line is still running to and from the airport.

A Network Rail spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘There are currently no trains running to or from Heathrow Airport owing to a fault with the ventilation system within the tunnels along the route.

‘Engineers are on site working to restore the system, however disruption is expected to continue throughout the morning. We’re sorry for the impact this will have on journeys.

‘Passengers are able to use existing tickets on the Piccadilly line and are advised to check with National Rail Enquiries before travelling.’

London Underground and Overground disruption

Tube passengers were warned of severe delays to their journeys this morning.

Part of the Central line is suspended, with severe delays between Leytonstone in east London and Woodford via Hainault, and between White City and Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip due to a signal failure at Stratford.

Ther was no service on Central line between Woodford and Epping while TfL responded to a fire alert at Debden this morning, which was since downgraded to ‘minor delays.’

A stretch of the District line is also partially suspended, with no service between Turnham Green and Richmond while Network Rail engineers fix a track fault at Gunnersbury in southwest London.

The track fault is also affecting the London Overground service.

There is currently no service between Richmond and Gunnersbury.

A Network Rail spokesperson said its teams are ‘actively investigating the issue and working to resume train services safely.’

‘Delays are expected on some services, so passengers are advised to check the latest travel information for updates. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by this incident,’ they said.

Service between South Tottenham and Barking Riverside is suspended because of a signal failure at Walthamstow Queen’s Road, the latest TfL status update shows.

TfL also warned of ‘severe delays’ on the Northern line caused by a fire alert at Clapham Common.

A spokesperson for TfL said: ‘We apologise to Central line, District line and Overground customers for the disruption to their journeys this morning.

‘Our engineers are working as quickly as possible to restore a normal service.’

Have you been affected? Please email [email protected].

This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.

MORE : New London skyscraper as tall as Shard in doubt over sunlight and packed lunches

MORE : Nine-year-old chess prodigy to become youngest player to represent England in any sport

MORE : Flight makes emergency landing because in-flight meals had been spoiled

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.