A COMMUTER who was trapped on the Tube for 40 minutes twice in one week says transport bosses are “taking liberties” with long-suffering Victoria Line users.
Kevin Ward, 52, was on his way to work from Walthamstow Central on Thursday, July 15, and yesterday (July 21) when he was stuck for long periods at each station, meaning he missed important work meetings.
Mr Ward, of Netley Road, said although ongoing work is happening on the line, more should be done for passengers who are having to suffer regular frustration.
He said: “Last Thursday there were major delays. To have it again is taking liberties.
“After the amount of investment and sacrifices we have had to go through the services should be better. But it has been happening for years.
“We were supposed to be having these ‘super-duper’ trains with great services, but it hasn’t happened. This is not acceptable with the amount of technology that is about these days.
“We have been long suffering with the amount of weekend closures and delays. I want to know what are they going to do when the Olympics are here.”
Mr Ward, a welfare rights advisor at Middlesex University, added: “I was supposed to be going to a staff briefing when I got stuck. A few minutes late is ok, but 40 minutes is ridiculous.
“It is not acceptable that this is continuing. We were going southbound and all the trains were backing up. If you have people who are elderly or children it is especially dangerous to be there for so long.
“People were standing in the aisles. It was packed. They just resigned themselves to waiting. But most of them tried to get off at the next station as quickly as they could. It was uncomfortable and very hot.
“Our train stopped at stations, but others were stopping in tunnels. I could have walked it quicker. But people were getting off sooner than they had planned, and this puts pressure on other services.
“It is very well telling us to take a bottle of water on the train with us. But if they (TfL) know people will be stuck for 40 minutes they should have bottles of water available in an emergency.”
He added: “You would have thought the Victoria line would be running an 'A1' service with the amount of work they have done on the Victoria line and also with testing the new trains in the last few years. If animals would have been kept in these conditions the RSPCA would have prosecuted TFL for unnecessary suffering.”
The Victoria Line was suspended during the morning rush hour on Monday, July 19, when engineering works overran.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers. All our drivers are trained to keep passengers on their trains informed of delays. In addition there are tannoy announcements and Service Boards at stations which highlight any suspensions or delays on the Tube.
“Yesterday morning there was a defective train at Pimlico station at 8.15am and five minutes later there was a signal failure at Green Park. As a result the Victoria line had to be partly suspended between Victoria and Brixton for 40 minutes and there were severe delays to the rest of the line.
“Last Thursday 15 July just before 9am a Victoria line train developed a fault at Seven Sisters Underground station. The Victoria line service still continued to operate but it caused severe delays for about 45 minutes.”
Are you a regular Victoria Line user? What do you think of the service? Call Safira on 07795316229
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