Damaged trains leave Piccadilly Line passengers facing weeks of disruption
Passengers on the Piccadilly line are facing disruption until the new year after trains were damaged by leaves on the line.
A temporary closure is in place on the western side between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge, which has resulted in fewer, and busier trains on the rest of the line, causing severe delays.
A Transport for London spokesperson has apologised to customers and said the issue was is due to storms which have blown leaves into stations and onto the tracks.
This has caused trains to skid and damaged their wheels.
A TfL spokesperson said: “The existing fleet is over 50 years old and a number of trains have been damaged as a result of this autumn's track conditions despite us taking a large number of mitigating actions."
After the damaged trains are repaired, there will still be part closures at weekends at various points along the line until June to prepare for a new fleet of trains for the line, which will take to the tracks in 2025.
“The new fleet of trains, which are currently in production, will be less susceptible to the effects of leaf fall in the same way our newer Metropolitan line trains have proved less susceptible,” said TfL.
People travelling between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge are being advised to use the Metropolitan line, while trains continue to run from Rayners Lane along the rest of the Piccadilly line.
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