Transport for London has advised passengers of delays and disruption on parts of the Metropolitan Line due to an increase in safety inspections.
TfL's Peter McNaught says that they have identified a fault with some of the wheels on a number of Metropolitan Line trains.
As a precautionary measure, they have increased the rate of inspections of the trains to make a more detailed inspection of the fleet.
A special timetable has been introduced to make sure Metropolitan trains run as frequently as possible whilst the fault is resolved.
The timetable for the Metropolitan Line is as follows:
- Amersham to Baker Street – every 30 minutes in both directions
- Chesham to Baker Street – every 30 minutes in both directions
- Uxbridge to Aldgate – every 15 minutes in both directions
- Watford to Baker Street – every 15 minutes in both directions
TfL says the fault is not affecting other lines, but they may be busier whilst passengers use other lines whilst the fault is resolved.
Peter McNaught, Director of Operational Readiness at Transport for London, said: “We identified a fault with some of the wheels on a number of Metropolitan line trains during our regular and routine inspections of our fleet. Safety is our top priority, and as a precautionary measure, we have increased the rate of inspection of these trains to make detailed checks of the entire fleet. We have introduced a special timetable on the Metropolitan line to ensure we continue to run as frequent and regular a timetable as possible while inspections take place and our engineers resolve the fault. We're sorry that this may lead to some services and stations being busier than normal and advise customers to check before they travel.”
Does look like there has been lots of issues with the S8 Stocks since they were first introduced on the Metropolitan Line in 2013. And replaced the A-Stock.
Don’t they have the same wheels on the S7 stock on the Circle and District Lines?
True. And on the Hammersmith and City Line.
TFL obviously have an insufficient maintenance schedule. They are lucky to find this before the wheels fell off.
The difference in lines is the average speed and distance covered. That is sustained over time is additional heating, more tempering of the steel, and increased wear.
We could guess the maintenance schedule is time based and identical on those lines. They likely found many wheels worn out and possibly already showing fractures…