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Tube line to Olympic Park reopens after fire alert Javelin trains to Olympic Park disrupted
(about 7 hours later)
Services on a key transport route to the Olympic Park have resumed after it was suspended earlier due to a fire alert. Services on a key transport route to the Olympic Park were disrupted on Tuesday afternoon after the Javelin highspeed service was suspended between Stratford and Ebbsfleet International.
The problems on Tuesday morning meant no trains were running on a section of the tube's Central line which serves Stratford. Spectators leaving the park and heading south to pick up cars and coaches at stations in Kent suffered long delays, according to passengers who said there were also hold-ups between St Pancras in central London and the Olympic Park – a claim denied by Southeastern Trains.
To add to Olympic travellers' difficulties, rail services in and out of Liverpool Street main line station were affected by a signalling problem. Despite the disruption overall London's transport infrastructure appeared to be coping well with the influx of Olympic visitors.
The Central line was suspended between Liverpool Street and Woodford/Newbury in both directions. By about 10am the suspended section had reopened, but severe delays continued. "All our systems are green at the moment and things are running well," said a spokesman for Transport for London.
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman said: "The suspension is due to a train being taken out of service at Leyton after the driver reported smelling smoke. This has been investigated and all passengers left the train and station without reported problems." The disruption on the Javelin train was caused by a "trespass incident" which forced the suspension of the service between Stratford, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International at about 2pm, while police dealt with a "suicidal person" on a bridge over the line. The line was reopened shortly after 3pm after about an hour of disruption.
TfL advised Olympic spectators to use other tube and main line services to reach Stratford, including the Jubilee line, the London Overground and the Docklands Light Railway. A spokesman for Southeastern Trains said the incident had no impact on the service between Stratford and the Olympic Park.
The main line difficulties at Liverpool Street were caused by an overhead wire problem between Elsenham and Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex. This was affecting travellers on services run by the Greater Anglia and CrossCountry train companies. Earlier, services on the Central line between Liverpool Street and Woodford/Newbury Park were suspended due to a fire alert.
The problems around Liverpool Street come on another busy day for public transport as the first weekday evening football match takes place at Wembley Stadium. The suspension on the line serving Stratford had been lifted by about 10am, but severe delays continued.
This is only one of a number of Olympic events taking place in the capital, with TfL advising that London is expected to be exceptionally busy throughout the day. Rail services at Liverpool Street main line station were also affected by a signalling problem caused by an overhead wire problem between Elsenham and Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex. This was affecting travellers on services run by the Greater Anglia and CrossCountry train companies.
TfL said people were heeding advice to avoid London if possible. It added that while tube journeys were up 4% on Monday, road journeys in London were down by 20%. London's public transport system was due to be tested again on Tuesday evening as 70,000 people were due at Wembley for an Olympic football match between England and Brazil women's teams.
London's transport commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: "Public transport in general, and the Jubilee line in particular, will be exceptionally busy today as spectators make their way to events at key Olympic venues across the capital. TfL said people were heeding advice to avoid the capital if possible. It added that while tube journeys were up 4% on Monday, road journeys in London were down by 20%.
"We are very grateful to customers for following our advice to avoid London Bridge station and for major businesses who are enabling their staff to work flexibly during the Games. Our advice to all users of the transport network continues to be to plan ahead, avoid hotspot areas, and leave plenty of time for your journey." London's transport commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: ""We are very grateful to customers for following our advice to avoid London Bridge station and for major businesses who are enabling their staff to work flexibly during the Games. Our advice to all users of the transport network continues to be to plan ahead, avoid hotspot areas, and leave plenty of time for your journey."