Experts found no evidence of coronavirus on Tube, London transport chief reveals as he insists: The system is safe

 “We are ready when you are ready"
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Ross Lydall @RossLydall2 October 2020

London's transport chief has insisted the Tube is “safe” after an investigation failed to detect any traces of Covid.

Andy Byford, the Transport for London commissioner, urged passengers to return to the Underground in the wake of the independent checks by experts from Imperial College London.

He said: “We are ready when you are ready. The system is safe. We encourage people to use it.”

TfL is running virtually a full service to enable passengers to socially distance but the number of journeys is only at about a third of pre-Covid levels.

A trial offering 500 Covid home-testing kits to frontline TfL staff, such as Tube drivers, Tube and bus station managers, and control room staff, is underway to ensure none have to stay off work unnecessarily if they cannot obtain a test through the Government website.

Researchers from Imperial College have been commissioned to carry out ongoing testing for Covid across the Tube and bus network, the Standard has learned.

A search for Covid on the Tube has failed to find any evidence of the virus, it was revealed today 
PA

The most recent swab sampling involved testing escalators and Oyster readers at Waterloo and Euston stations, the grab handles on a Northern line train and the push buttons and handrails on a 205 bus.

Air samples – taken at a rate of 300 litres a minute for up to an hour, more than a human would breathe – were also taken at each location.

The testing was designed to replicate a typical rush-hour journey on a busy part of the network. “All results were negative, with no coronavirus being detected at any of the sampling sites,” a TfL spokesman told the Standard.

Earlier findings that were part of a separate wider study, did not find any coronavirus on surface samples from the Victoria line, TfL said.

Mr Byford, appearing before the London Assembly yesterday, urged Londoners to return to the Tube and not believe “urban myths about how packed it is”.

Hundreds of businesses and schools have been contacted and asked to advise their staff to travel off-peak, when it was easiest to socially distance.

Mr Byford revealed he had stood “shoulder to shoulder” with TfL staff on the frontline to ensure passengers wore masks. Several days ago he was at Waterloo station, telling people with masks slung round their chin to place it over their mouth and nose.

He said TfL was “making sure the system is as clean as it can be” and revealed an “all-out focus on cleanliness”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“We are doing our damnedest to ensure the system is ready,” he said. “It’s clean. It’s enforced. It’s socially distanced. We are making it as attractive as possible to future riders.”

TfL had drawn up plans to potentially close Tube stations if a local lockdown is imposed on “hotspot” areas in the capital.

A number of stations were closed during the first wave to allow TfL to ensure it had enough staff at its busiest stations. TfL’s income plummeted by 90 per cent in March and April but has begun to recover. However a £2 billion bailout for the remainder of the financial year is required urgently.

Mr Byford said: “We have looked at what the impact of a second lockdown would be across London, and also we have modelled what the impact would be of local lockdowns in clusters around the city. We have plans to address those.

“We would have to make operational plans to selectively potentially close Tube stations. That would add to our financial woes were that to happen again.”

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