Elizabeth line suffering a second day of major problems and delays
The Elizabeth line is facing a significant signalling problem for the second consecutive day, causing the main part of the railway to be closed.
The Elizabeth line station that is currently not in operation (c) ianVisits
There are no trains operating between Abbey Wood and Paddington due to the new tunnel section, and significant delays are affecting the rest of the line, which uses the current National Rail surface tracks.
The issue stems from a signaling error on the track that occurred during maintenance on Monday night. This led to a service disruption early Tuesday morning, and the problems are still ongoing on Wednesday. The central part of the network employs a more modern signaling system known as CBTC, while the National Rail portions rely on older technologies like TPWS and ETCS. The malfunction has impacted the CBTC system, provided by Siemens Mobility, and one insider referred to it as "the worst signaling failure they've ever encountered."
Signaling map for the Elizabeth Line (c) Crossrail
The disruption is causing significant repercussions for the entire public transport system. Many commuters who switched to the Elizabeth line are now forced to cram into already crowded tube and train services. The Docklands Light Railway between Woolwich and Canary Wharf is packed to capacity, while the Jubilee and Central lines are struggling to meet the high demand.
Currently, the priority is to resolve the issue. After any major incident on the railway, a report is compiled detailing what occurred and the steps taken to address it. This information might be published at a later time.
Howard Smith, the Director of the Elizabeth Line, expressed, "We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused on the Elizabeth Line. We are actively collaborating with Siemens, our signalling provider, to address the problems that emerged from the overnight system maintenance."
"We recommend that our customers prepare in advance, give themselves additional time for their trips, and check for updates before they head out by using our website or the TfL Go app."
To make matters worse this morning, the Circle line is currently shut down, and both the District and Hammersmith and City lines are experiencing delays.
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