Central line trains to Olympic Park suspended after suspected fire on train

A view of the crowds at Stratford station (GETTY IMAGES)

After a better than expected start yesterday, Tube trains on a line running commuters to the London 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford were suspended this morning after a fire alarm stopped trains travelling east of Liverpool Street station.

Commuters and Olympics spectators were told at around 7am that trains would not be running between there and Woodford/Newbury Park; a section of line which includes Stratford station. They were told to use the District and Jubilee lines instead.

The problem, the first major issue to hit the rush hour traffic during the Olympics, was caused by an incident at Leyton, a defective train westbound was awaiting the arrival of the London Fire Brigade, a train driver said.

Announcers at Bank station said there were reports of a fire on board the train, which caused severe delays along the line.

Mainline train services at Liverpool Street station, which is only three stops from Stratford on an eastbound Tube train, were also disrupted, causing further problems. An issue with an overhead wire between Elsenham and Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex meant trains in and out of the station run by on services run by Greater Anglia and CrossCountry were delayed.

London?s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy, said: ?Public transport in general, and the Jubilee line in particular, will be exceptionally busy today as spectators make their way to events at key Olympic venues across the capital.

We are very grateful to customers for following our advice to avoid London Bridge station and for major businesses who are enabling their staff to work flexibly during the Games.

Our advice to all users of the transport network continues to be to plan ahead, avoid hotspot areas, and leave plenty of time for your journey.?

The problems around Liverpool Street come on another busy day for public transport as the first weekday evening football match takes place at Wembley Stadium.

This is only one of a number of Olympic events taking place in the capital, with Transport for London (TfL) advising that London is expected to be exceptionally busy throughout the day.

TfL said people were heeding advice to avoid London if possible. It added that while Tube journeys were up 4% yesterday, road journeys in London were down by 20%.

By around 10am the suspended section of the Central line had reopened, but severe delays are continuing.