The two tube lines closed by Saturday's derailment will remain closed until at least the end of the week, London Underground (LU) said today.

LU said both the Central and Waterloo and City lines would stay closed as investigations continued into the accident at Chancery Lane in central London which injured 32 people.

Both lines must remain closed until the trains had been thoroughly checked for possible defects, and the causes of Saturday's derailment more fully understood, LU said in a statement.

The disruption means further travel chaos for thousands of London commuters, about 750,000 people use the Central and Waterloo and City lines a day.

LU said it was not possible to say exactly how long the safety checks and investigation would take. "While we wish to restore a service for our customers as soon as possible, we will not do so until we are satisfied this can be done safely," LU said.

Additional buses are running between Hainault and Leytonstone and Epping and Stratford. An express bus will also run from Epping to Chingford (morning peak) and from Chingford to Epping (evening peak). A non-stop Northolt to Park Royal service is running in the direction of peak flow.

January 28, 2003 11:30