THE CENTRAL LINE is the “worst, most dangerously overcrowded and asphyxiating” Tube service on the network, furious commuters claim.

After a signal failure on the line this week (October 17) that left people up to an hour late for work, Central Line commuters in east London are at breaking point, slamming the service as “seriously poor”.

East Londoners regularly take to social media to complain about the lack of trains on both the Epping and Hainault Branches, overcrowding, signal failures and lack of staff.

Rena Pathak of the South Woodford Society said: “There is a huge disparity in use of stations in Redbridge.

“Annual footfall figures show 2.67 million passengers use Snaresbrook Station and 2.09 million use Wanstead.

“These figures are paltry when you compare the whopping 5.15 million who use South Woodford.

“The burden being borne by South Woodford Station is incredible, especially when passenger numbers are rising.”

She added Redbridge Council’s plans to build 650 new homes in the area over the next 15 years will only add to congestion and are “ridiculous, unsafe and unsound”. 

A Redbridge Council spokesman said it is working with TfL to increase capacity and improve services on the line.

Her SWS colleague Matthew Shaw also said with the line “at capacity, the smallest problem means the system cannot cope”. 

Freddie Cocker, of South Woodford, has started going to work earlier to guarantee trains are not “fit to bursting” and his commute is “less draining”.

The 22-year-old said: “At this time of year queues at South Woodford can be as large as five-men deep.

“I am getting the train at 7.30 and changing to the Jubilee Line at Stratford to avoid the Central Line as much as possible.

“There needs to be significant increases in the number of trains on both branches to ease congestion that is being neglected.

“The Central Line is probably one of the busiest lines in London, but has the most asphyxiating trains due to a lack of air conditioning.

“I’m very surprised no one has been taken seriously ill this summer, as with temperatures inside the train as high as 39 degrees, it’s like a mobile oven.”

A regular commuter from Chigwell Station, who recently set up a Twitter page called Central Line Rants, claims service on the Hainault Loop is “getting worse and worse every year”.

She is also campaigning against the cut in morning rush hour trains from Grange Hill, Chigwell and Roding Valley, branding them “unfair” as “demand for services has never been greater”. 

She said: “The line seems to be the last on TfL’s list for upgrades.
“Every single day we have signal failures, lack of staff or defective trains.

“People are close to losing their jobs because there are such severe delays.

“With London’s population getting bigger and bigger, more investment is desperately needed to keep up with demand.

“We pay an awful lot for the service and yet it continues to get worse.”

MP for Ilford North Wes Streeting has also joined the fight, by promising to take up Redbridge commuters’ concerns with the Deputy Mayor for Transport.

He said: “I think everyone recognises the service has gradually been getting worse.

“The number of delays and people late for work every day is beyond unacceptable.

“TfL needs to address these concerns but also recognise the pace of housing development along the line putting pressure on it.”

London Assembly Member for Havering and Redbridge Keith Prince added: "Overcrowding is an issue that needs addressing if we want our boroughs to remain attractive for home buyers.

"Investment is the only way to increase capacity on trains, so it worries me that we have a Mayor who has removed £640m from TfL’s budget with his fares freeze. 

"I will be pressing him to address these concerns for my constituents."

TfL's Central Line general manager Chris Taggart responded: "We recently introduced a new timetable that has provided more trains for thousands of Central line customers on the Epping branch, which is one of the busiest stretches of the line. 

"Over the next few years we will be investing £130million on our Central line trains, which will improve their reliability and provide the high level of service that our customers deserve."