Central line commuters delayed as falling plaster closes part of Oxford Circus

 
Overcrowding on the London Undergroud tube
Alex Lentati
Dick Murray7 January 2013

Commuters faced major congestion at Oxford Circus station tonight after plaster fell off part of the ceiling over the Central line platform.

The westbound platform was closed and westbound trains ordered to run through the station without stopping. Eastbound services operated normally.

Commuters were directed to Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations. The station, which also serves the Victoria and Bakerloo lines, is one of the busiest on the network.

Part of the ceiling came down 8.15 am. It was the first of two rush-hour incidents to disrupt service on the Central line used by more than 700,000 passengers a day. Fifteen minutes later a Central line train overshot the platform at Holland Park.

Transport for London has launched investigations into both incidents. A TfL spokesman said: “Trains at Oxford Circus are non-stopping through the westbound Central line platform today following a small amount of plaster falling from the ceiling above the platform.

“No passengers were hurt or involved in the incident and a repair will be made during tonight’s engineering hours. Repairs will take place tonight after close of service.” A full service is expected to resume tomorrow.

In the Holland Park incident a train overshot the platform by half a carriage length. There was a short delay to service and the train taken out of use.

Bob Crow, the RMT union leader, said: “The union has warned repeatedly about the impact of maintenance cuts and specifically the widening of schedules from a 14-day to a 28-day cycle.

“Those concerns are now pushed right up the agenda again with the collapsed ceiling at Oxford Circus this morning and the over-shoot at Holland Park.”

LU Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins said: “Trains at Oxford Circus were non-stopping through the westbound Central Line platform this morning following a small amount of plaster falling from the ceiling above the platform. This was caused by water ingress and has now been repaired, and trains are stopping normally again. No passengers were hurt or involved in the incident.”

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