There have been three trackside fires this week on the Northern Line, resulting in delays and commuter chaos.
The first fire took place on 6 March between Old Street and Angel stations.
Just before the fire began, a Transport for London (TfL) announcement told commuters that there was a small “smouldering” on the tracks at around 08:30am.
The London Fire Brigade confirmed the response to the incidents in a statement.
“Firefighters tackled a small trackside fire on the Northern Line. The Brigade was called at 08.35am and the incident was over for firefighters by 09.33am. Crews from Islington, Shoreditch, Soho, and Whitechapel fire stations attended the scene.”
Witnesses outside Kings Cross station saw a fire engine rush to the scene during rush-hour traffic.
Two more fires occurred on the Northern line on Wednesday morning. The first incident took place at 8:30am at Archway Station, resulting in the dispatch of four fire engines. Just hours later, a second fire alert was reported at 11:00am at South Wimbledon and two fire engines quickly attended the scene.
Whilst it is unclear what started the fire on Monday, both fires on Wednesday were attributed to the ignition of ceramic insulator pots, after dirt and litter accumulated on them.
Part suspensions of the Northern line took place after all of the fires.
Passengers were able to use their tickets on London buses over the course of the incidents, and no injuries have been reported.
Jamie Barton, a commuter who took the first tube running from Tufnell Park after a suspension, described the scene as “chaos”.
“I was surrounded by people. Everyone groaned as they saw the carriages were completely full already. I was at the front, so I managed to get on the train, but people were pushing form behind. People were shouting to stop pushing and one girl next to me was crying,” he said.
Another commuter, Sam Lawley, chose to take a bus instead.
“It was a nightmare really. There were a lot of hot-tempered people on the bus. We crawled down Holloway Road for the best part of an hour,” he said.
