Commuters face more Tube chaos

THE BUSIEST section of rail track in the country, the Brixton terminus of London Underground's Victoria Line, is to close this autumn, forcing 120,000 daily commuters on to the roads, the Government said yesterday.

The Transport minister Helen Liddell told MPs the Victoria Line between Brixton and Victoria will shut for a fortnight from 23 October. The line needs urgent replacement of track and points-switching devices to keep services running safely but weekend working alone will not be enough.

Almost 60 trains an hour use the Brixton terminus - or, in London Underground jargon, the station has "250,000 train movements per year". While the work is said to be "necessary" and "disruptions will be kept to a minimum", that is hardly likely to impress commuters in London and the South-east who have seen a chaotic year of delay and cancellations on the Tube.

Further misery, compounded by the chilling phrase "replacement bus service", is heaped upon travellers and tourists today when, just four days after London Underground announced record profits of almost pounds 300m, a busy part of the Northern Line closes for nine weeks.

Commuters heading to the City from south London will have to use alternative routes because of rebuilding work between Moorgate and Kennington. The work, which will realign tunnels, affects about 75,000 Tube users.