TfL sorry as Northern line delays enter fifth day

A signal failure has been identified at Stockwell

Transport for London (TfL) has apologised after severe delays on the Northern line continue into a fifth day.

A signalling equipment failure at Stockwell station in south London has meant that since Sunday, service controllers have had to "manually talk trains through this part of the network".

The BBC understands that TfL has not yet identified the cause of the failure but letters have been sent to councils, businesses and other groups which TfL works with.

Nick Dent, TfL's director of customer operations, said: "Our engineers are working hard to identify and fix the fault, including deploying advanced test equipment, and we will do all we can to restore a good service as soon as possible."

Mr and Mrs Clark had trouble getting to Moorfields Eye Hospital

Miriam and Stuart Clark, who live in Balham, were travelling to Moorfields Eye Hospital for an appointment on Tuesday morning.

They told BBC London that although they "love the Northern line" their journey was "a nightmare".

Mr Clark said: "It was a disaster. When we got there, all the trains stopped running.

"The buses on the high street were just flying past us so we had to find all sorts of funny ways to get there."

London Travelwatch has advised customers delayed by more than 15 minutes to claim a refund.

Victoria line trains at Stockwell are unaffected

Small business owner Tim Lawrence, 64, from Archway says the delays are making his commute more time-consuming and complicated.

He said: "My journey to work is currently taking 50 - 60 minutes instead of the usual 35 - 40 minutes.

"It's difficult to understand how this problem is dragging on to the fifth day if TFL is really directing appropriate resources to fixing it."

Mr Dent added: "We apologise to customers affected by delays on the Northern line since Sunday.

"We have identified a fault with the signalling equipment around the Stockwell area that means our service controllers need to manually talk trains through this part of the network.

"We are advising customers to allow extra time for their journeys, and to check before they travel using TfL journey planner or the TfL Go app."