A new category of problem caused tube services to be disrupted in central London on Thursday: quick-drying concrete over the controls.

Most of the Victoria line was closed from around 1.40pm after private contractors working on the £700m rebuilding of Victoria Station for London Underground managed to pour large quantities of water and cement into a signal control room.

The damaged equipment meant there were no working signals on the southern section of the line, and services were suspended between Brixton and Warren Street stations.

According to the unidentified person who sent photos to usvsth3m.com, several rows of relay equipment were submerged in concrete.





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Tube workers clearing up at the scene said the contractors, VINCI BAM Nuttall, appeared to have poured concrete into a void in an escalator machine room that burst through into the signal equipment room with a flood up to a foot (30cm) deep. Power and signalling was switched off for safety reasons. Passengers were initially told the closure was due to “flooding” at Victoria Station.

Nigel Holness, London Underground’s operations director, said: “This afternoon our contractors were working on the new station in an area next to the Victoria line signal control room. These works involved the use of water and cement, which leaked into the room, damaging equipment. This has meant there are no signals working on the southern section of the line.”

He said engineers were working hard to resolve the situation to get services back up and running, but the line was expected to be affected for the remainder of the day while repairs were carried out. Passengers were diverted to other lines and replacement buses.