3,000 stranded in Tube tunnels

Thousands of Tube commuters suffered horrendous delays as a power failure stranded trains in tunnels at the height of the rush-hour.

Three trains, each packed with up to 1,000 commuters, were brought to a stop for up to 45 minutes after the power failure hit parts of west London last night.

The Central line, one of the busiest on the network and used by more than 600,000 passengers a day, was brought to a standstill in both directions through the middle of London.

In the worst incident, a crowded westbound train was stranded as the power failed at 5.15pm.

But eight stations in the area, including Queensway, and also those on other lines had to be closed. It was 45 minutes before power started to come back on and Tube chiefs decided the best way to get passengers out of the train was to get the driver to struggle back to the driving cab at the other end and reverse the service back to Lancaster Gate station.

It arrived there at 6.06pm. This had a knock-on effect by further delaying trains. While this was going on, a second westbound Central line train was stranded in the tunnel for 20 minutes short of Notting Hill Gate station. A third train - eastbound - was halted in the same area. Meanwhile, the eight stations affected - Fulham Broadway, Maida Vale, part of Paddington, Westbourne Park, Royal Oak, Notting Hill Gate, Warwick Avenue and Queensway - did not all reopen until 6.29pm.

There were then more delays on the Central line throughout the evening peak as the service slowly returned to normal.

Although London Underground has its own power stations, it does take some electricity from the national grid - it was that which caused the problem last night.

Although main traction power was not affected, the signal centre which controls that area of the Central line was hit. The stations were closed for safety reasons. Apologising for the delays, an LU spokeswoman said: "The problem was outside our control."