London travel chaos: Central and Elizabeth line hit by severe delays as Heathrow Express suspended

Commuters in London are facing a day of travel misery, with severe delays crippling part of the Underground network and trains out to Britain’s busiest airport.

Many of those heading to and from Heathrow will have been forced to change their plans, with the Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line trains to the airport cancelled all day after a tunnel was closed “for safety reasons”.

According to National Rail, “there is a problem with the ventilation system in Heathrow tunnels which means trains cannot run on this line until engineers have resolved the issue.”

Passengers are being told to “seek alternative travel methods” to reach or depart Heathrow.

There is currently no service on the Central Line between Leytonstone and Liverpool Street due to a signal failure, which has caused major problems for the rest of the route.

A spokesperson for Transport for London (TfL) told The Independent : “A TfL spokesperson said: “We apologise to Central line customers for the disruption to their journeys this morning. This was caused by a signal failure at Stratford. Engineers are working as quickly as possible to restore a normal service.”

“Tickets are being accepted on London Buses, London Overground, Elizabeth Line, Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway, and Greater Anglia services via any reasonable route,” a notes on the TfL website states.

“Customers are advised to avoid using the line where possible.”

There are also part closures on a number of other key links into and around the city, including links to Heathrow airport.

There is no service between Turnham Green and Richmond on the District line while Network Rail fix a track fault at Gunnersbury, which also means on the London Overground, no trains are running between Richmond and Gunnersbury.

There is also no service between South Tottenham and Barking Riverside due to a signal failure at Walthamstow Queen’s Road.

A fire alert at Clapham Common station has resulted in “severe delays” on the Northern line.

Many of those affected by the disruption have taken to social media to share their frustration.

One user wrote on Twitter/X that “it’s another bad, bad morning”, while another said: “Nightmare on the Central line – kicked off at Leytonstone – standing in a train that is going no where and no one knows wherre it’s going”.

Commenting on the Elizabeth line issues, one user said: “At it again this morning. Something so shiny and new fails so often.”

Elsewhere, there is no service on London Tramlink between Arena and Elmers End due to a shortage of trams.