Londoners are enduring massive travel disruption, with a national rail strike and M25 motorway closure, and now the tram network is struggling to provide a regular service
Off-track: at least a dozen trams are damaged and in need of repair
Croydon’s trams, on the day that services were meant to return to “normal” after a three-day strike by engineers, are “severely disrupted”, according to Transport for London. Just eight trams were available and in working order yesterday, sources have told Inside Croydon.
The trams have suffered “damage to tram wheels caused by debris on the line”, TfL says.
Vandalism to the tracks and trams has been discounted by the operators, who suggest that more than a dozen trams are currently unavailable.
With engineers on strike earlier this week, few if any repairs were being undertaken until today, when work is being undertaken to return as many of the fleet to working order as quickly as possible.
“We’re playing catch-up,” the source said.
Disruption “is likely to continue into the weekend and beyond”, an official statement from TfL said.
There is currently no service between Reeves Corner, Beckenham Junction, Elmers End and New Addington “due to a shortage of trams”, according to the TfL travel guide web page.
“We are working hard to repair the damage as quickly as possible and are sorry for the disruption this is causing while repair work is carried out,” said TfL.
This latest disruption to tram services follows a two-week closure in February for “essential maintenance” and then a month’s part-closure throughout April, when there was no service from East Croydon to New Addington or Beckenham Junction.
“We are boosting local bus services in the area to help enable journeys. Plan ahead, allow more time for your journey and check before you travel,” is the best that TfL could offer.
And good luck if you were hoping to travel anywhere at all in the next few days.
There are national rail strikes until Saturday May 11, while a section of the M25 in Surrey is due to close at 9pm on Friday night for 60 hours for major infrastructure works.
For more information on how rail services are affected, visit the National Rail website.
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