Tube delays amid calls for maintenance probe
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rail union leaders called today for an official investigation into maintenance on London Underground after days of disruption and delays caused by checks on Tube trains.
Services on the District Line were hit for the third successive day when a number of trains were withdrawn after engineers discovered brackets which seemed to be cracked during a maintenance inspection earlier this week.
London Underground (LU) said 17 trains were out of service for inspection or repair and accused the Rail Maritime and Transport union of "scaremongering".
The union announced that it was filing a report to the Office of Rail Regulation claiming that LU was "cutting corners" on Tube maintenance and calling for an investigation.
A Transport for London spokesman said: "Once again, the RMT are scaremongering. All District Line trains are being fully and properly inspected before they enter customer service. Any trains that require work are also being fully repaired before they enter service.
"We apologise to passengers for the disruption this is causing, but passenger safety is our top priority. It is also important to recognise that the issues with District Line trains were picked up through our routine maintenance programmes, and this demonstrates that our safety regime works."
LU said the District line was running with "minor delays" today, with 17 trains out of service for inspection or repair, compared with 23 yesterday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments