Leaves blamed for Piccadilly line part-closure

Leaves on the track mean the wheels of Piccadilly line trains risk damage

The part-closure of a London Underground line has been blamed on significant leaf fall.

Services between Uxbridge and Rayners Lane on the Piccadilly line remain suspended, which has led Transport for London (TfL) to apologise to customers.

Metropolitan Line trains between the two stations in north-west London continue to operate and the rest of the Piccadilly line is unaffected, TfL said.

A spokesperson said: "We employ a robust action plan every year to minimise the impact of leaf fall on our network which includes intensive trackside vegetation clearance and running specialist engineering trains along affected sections."

They added: "However, high volumes of leaves can make the track slippery and increase the risk of damage to train wheels, which is why we sometimes must introduce part-suspensions at this time of year, depending on weather conditions."

In 2025, new air-conditioned trains are due to be introduced across the line which carries 10% of all Tube journeys.

TfL added: "The existing fleet is over 50 years old and a number of trains have been damaged as a result of this autumn's track conditions despite us taking a large number of mitigating actions.

"The new fleet of trains, which are currently in production, will be less susceptible to the effects of leaf fall in the same way our newer Metropolitan line trains have proved less susceptible."