Commuter tells how he no longer feels safe on the Northern line as closure and delays cause rush hour chaos

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Sophie Williams29 May 2018

A commuter has told of how he no longer feels safe on the Northern line as closure and delays cause rush hour chaos.

Greg Flucker takes the Northern line from Stockwell to Old Street every day where he works as a corporate media relations officer.

He told the Standard: "I'm someone who doesn't suffer from claustrophobia or any related issued but today I had the second anxiety attack I've had on the line."

The 28-year-old added: "For as long as I've been making the commute I've felt the number of people using the service far exceeds the capacity the line was designed to handle - which is understandable due to its age."

His comments come as commuters faced rush hour chaos due to delays on the Northern line. According to Transport for London, the delays were due to planned engineering works at Camden Town finishing late.

Passengers were told to take alternative routes or use local buses.

Mr Flucker says that "far too many people are allowed to board each train which causes an uncomfortable crush."

In order to improve the service, Mr Flucker says that there "should be checks at each doorway to make sure there aren't too many people boarding to ensure no one is injured in the carriage."

The northern line is facing four months of disruption on the line while work is completed on a key Northern line interchange.

Bank branch trains on the line will not stop at Kennington station for almost four months to allow time for “essential” works to be completed, Transport for London said.

It means passengers will not be able to change between the Bank and Charing Cross branches at Kennington, which is a key hub for commuters to busy south-west London stations serving Clapham, Balham, Tooting and Morden.

The work will see four passageways built for the Northern line extension from Battersea to Kennington, via Nine Elms, set to open in 2020.

Bank branch trains will not stop from Saturday May 26 until mid-September.

Nigel Holness, TfL’s Director of Network Operations, told the Standard: “We apologise to Northern and Victoria line customers and to local residents for the disruption the work at Kennington will cause to their journeys. The Bank branch platforms at Kennington are simply too narrow to allow us to safely carry out this vital work behind hoardings while keeping the platforms open. Running Bank branch trains through Kennington without stopping will allow us to build the additional passageways we need in the quickest and least disruptive way possible, and are essential to enable customers to access the new Northern Line Extension when it opens.”

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