Staff reporter(wp/es):
Rail union bosses have called for the Piccadilly line to be temporarily shut down and its Night Tube launch delayed until an ongoing “shortage of trains” is resolved.
The RMT union demanded urgent discussions with transport bosses about a temporary closure of the line and for its Night Tube start date to be pushed back until the fleet of trains are fixed.
Around half the line’s trains were taken out of service on Friday due to “wet leaves on the track” and the situation has continued over the weekend and into Monday morning sparking huge queues at stations including King’s Cross.
Transport bosses said the slippery rails were causing wheels on the Tube trains to lock, leading to excessive wear and rendering them unsafe.
Transport for London said it was “working round the clock to repair the wheels” but has no estimate of when the problem will be fixed.
The RMT also urged London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the capital’s transport commissioner to call a summit meeting to draw up an action plan for the Piccadilly line - the fourth busiest line on the Underground which serves Heathrow Airport.
It added that problems on the line could “take weeks to fix” and that the Night Tube start date of December 16 should be postponed to “protect passenger and staff safety”.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "The entire Piccadilly line fleet of trains has got a major engineering problem which has finally boiled over. It's nothing new and it is down to pressure on services and sheer managerial incompetence.”
He added: "The sheer danger of massive delays and overcrowding means that the service on the Piccadilly Line is inherently unsafe and will get worse under Night Tube.
"Our members are asking why will it be another 10 years before these 43-year-old trains are fully replaced when refurbishment clearly isn't working.
“It is also becoming clear that the wheels themselves are at fault and they've only recently been replaced. The contract for that job needs to be forensically examined.
"These issues have now all come together in a cumulative effect and are the reason why sections of the line were closed on Friday. RMT has been told the problem could take weeks to fix properly.
That's why consideration has to be given to the service being suspended until the trains are repaired and signed off as safe.
"We will have health and safety reps out and about from this morning advising our member and we expect an urgent response from the Mayor and his officials which we have set out today."
Tony Matthews, General Manager for the Piccadilly line, said: "I sincerely apologise to Piccadilly line customers for the ongoing disruption to their journeys.
"The safety of our customers and staff is our number one priority which is why we've had to continue taking some trains out of service to repair their wheels.
"This means that we do not have a full fleet available to run a good service. We will continue working around the clock to repair the wheels so that we can return to giving our customers the high level of service that they deserve as quickly as possible."
A TfL spokesman said: "Night Tube services are currently planned to launch on the Piccadilly line on Friday December 16.
"Night Tube services on the Piccadilly line will see a train every ten minutes between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5, so fewer trains will be needed compared to running a full service during the day on the entire line."
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