Tube chaos as night repair work overruns

A major part of the Piccadilly line was closed through central London early today when night engineering work again failed to finish on time.

The line was closed westbound between King's Cross and Hammersmith when work overran at South Kensington.

Travellers to Heathrow and thousands of commuters were forced to use other routes.

The line opened more than an hour late at 6.30am - but London Underground reported "severe" knock-on delays into the morning rush hour.

The shutdown infuriated LU chiefs desperate to put on as good a service as possible for the International Olympic Committee visit to assess the capital's bid for the 2012 Games.

Even a small delay getting trains running at the start of the morning schedule can cause huge disruption.

LU has criticised the two private sector maintenance companies, Metronet and Tube Lines - responsible for the Piccadilly line - for several previous delays caused by the late finish of engineering work.