Fire alert ends week of Tube chaos

The week of chaos on the Tube continued today as thousands of commuters suffered more disruption and frustration.

A fire alert at Oxford Circus station caused extensive hold-ups on two of the busiest lines, with knock-on delays on the rest of the network.

Rush-hour services had to be suspended on the Victoria line between Victoria and Warren Street, and on a heavily-used stretch of the Bakerloo line from Paddington to Piccadilly.

Today's chaos follows a week of disrupted journeys across the network, caused by a series of signal failures, other technical faults and some problems out of LU's control.

Both lines reopened at 7.33am after being shut for more than an hour.

The disruption coincides with a report which reveals that millions of people are being put off the Underground and train network because of the poor service. On the Tube alone, 300,000 fewer journeys are being made each week.