Central Line chaos

[bluescreen]

Can't find a thread about the current state of the Central line. Years of under-investment have led to shortage of trains, and it's only going to get worse. The ES (I know I know) had a shocking artice about it on Wednesday, after the RMT put employees in touch with them.

Central Line commuters face years of chaos, warn whistleblowers

Dire warning from Tube insiders over under-investment

www.standard.co.uk

Essential maintenance hasn't been done. Patched-up jobs increase the risk of damage to elderly working motors. There is a suggestion that trains with worn-down wheels are at increased risk of derailing.

The Central line needs 71 trains to run a full peak-hours service but only about 50 trains have been available[...]
It is understood the new timetable will aim to provide a train every three minutes in central London during peak hours and every five to 10 minutes further east[...]
But one RMT union source warned: “This timetable change is not going to be just for a few months. It’s going to take two to three years to solve this problem.”

The RMT sources said that staff cuts meant there were not enough engineers to fit new motors to the trains or to fast-track the Central Line Improvement Programme (Clip), which should have started pre-pandemic.

Some train carriages are “held together with tape”, with temporary patches covering holes in the floor.
“The trains have got holes in them,” one said. “The doors are no good. The trains are literally falling apart. It’s like Blue Peter — they’re stuck together with adhesive tape. Clip was going to save the fleet. But then Covid happened. The same trains are still running — but they have been run into the ground.”

London transport commissioner Andy Lord said that TfL was “working to minimise the number of trains out of service for other age-related reasons, such as damaged wheel sets”.
He has admitted the problems on the Central line could be replicated on other lines with ageing fleets, such as the Bakerloo, Northern and Piccadilly.

Worth reading the whole thing (predictable Khan-bashing apart).

I visit London regularly and have been avoiding the Central line for some time. Looks as if I should continue to do so.

 

[marshall]

The Central Line broke me a little bit. Haven’t been the same since panic attack on a packed tube stuck for freaking hours between Bank and Liverpool St about 20 years ago. It’s the walls of the tunnel, too near the windows, no space. Horrible line, the worst. Still try and avoid it all costs even now.

Lizabeth Line is great though

 

[marty21]

Luckily I don't need to use the Central Line much , and the Elizabeth Line is quicker anyway for the times that I do.