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Victoria Line back to normal after cement debacle

Water and cement leaked into the signal room which means no signals are working on the southern section of the line.

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Cement sugar idea prevented even further disruption

Quick thinking from engineers prevented cement from setting in the Victoria Line signal room which would have caused even further disruption to commuters.

Peter McNaught, operations director for the Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines, said it was lucky workers knew sugar would stop the cement setting.

Normal service has resumed on the line after engineers worked throughout the night to repair the damage.

Read: Victoria Line cement leak could have been far worse

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Workers used sugar to stop Victoria Line cement setting

Workers attempting to clean up the cement-filled Victoria Line signal room rushed to a local supermarket to buy bags of sugar to prevent it from setting.

Victoria Line services were closed between Warren Street in the centre of the capital and Brixton in the south after a cement leak from a nearby construction area damaged the control room.

The cement leak damaged the signal room causing widespread disruption to commuters. Credit: Us Vs them/@usvsth3m.

The problem has since been resolved and the line was once again running a good service.

The operations director for the Bakerloo, Central and Victoria lines paid tribute to the engineers who "worked tirelessly through the night" to repair the damage.

Read: London's Victoria Line reopens after concrete spill

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  1. National

London's Victoria Line reopens after concrete spill

London Underground's Victoria Line has reopened this morning after grinding to a halt when a cement leak damaged a signal control room.

The line was closed between Warren Street in the centre of the capital and Brixton in the south after the leak from an area where contractors were working on a long-term upgrade of Victoria Station yesterday.

See more pictures of the concrete spillage

The civil engineering team has poured fast-setting concrete into the signal room. Credit: Us Vs Them

Risk of Victoria Line disruption in morning

"We apologise for the delays and disruption to passengers travelling on the Victoria line today. Our engineers continue to work hard to repair the damaged equipment and get the line up and running as soon as possible.

"The line remains suspended between Warren Street and Brixton and this section will not run for the rest of the night. There is a risk that services on the Victoria line will start later than normal tomorrow morning.

"We therefore urge passengers to check before they travel."

– Peter McNaught, Transport for London

Union: Concrete spill 'making a nonsense' of tube cuts plan

"We understand that a foot of concrete burst into the control room having been poured into an escalator void.

We await further information but what we do know is that LU technicians are on site now working flat out to clear up the mess and get services back on line, proving once again that its directly employed public sector staff who are needed to deal with this kind of emergency, making a nonsense of Boris Johnson's tube staff cuts plans."

– National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers spokesperson
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