The ‘dangerous’ and ‘disgusting’ conditions on the Tube entered a second week today as NHS staff continued to blast Sadiq Khan for a lack of rush hour trains as coronavirus engulfs Britain.
Carriages and platforms are packed with key workers again because of an insufficient number of trains to carry people with no choice but to go to work in central London to guide Britain through the crisis.
This means that commuters who usually wait around three minutes for a train into the capital are now facing gaps of up to 20 minutes.
Rachael Baines posted a shocking photo of a packed train today and said: ‘I am a frontline NHS worker and this is how I have to travel to work due to @TfL reducing their service and people ignoring the #StayHome message. Absolutely disgusting’.
Edie Sousa, who was forced on to a packed Tube, tweeted: ‘Tube stations too full! How are frontline NHS workers getting to work safely. It’s a joke’.
Transport for London said there were problems on the Jubilee line this morning due to a broken-down train, which caused a gap in the service.
Commuters pack onto a Jubilee line train towards Central London today as workers are forced to use busy Tube services
An intensive care nurse from East London tweeted this picture of a packed London Underground platform this morning
Commuters at Leytonstone station on the Central line in East London this morning as the coronavirus pandemic continues
Meanwhile BBC journalist George Mann shared a photo of a sea of people at Leytonstone in east London where passengers were nose-to-nose with strangers as cases and deaths in the UK rocket.
A TfL spokesman told MailOnline today: ‘We are sorry that a defective train caused a gap in the Jubilee line service for a short time earlier this morning. This was quickly fixed.’
Trains are now being doused in an ‘anti-viral’ spray bosses claim will keep coronavirus off seats and handrails for up to 30 days.
On the seventh day of Britain’s unprecedented coronavirus lockdown, rush hour carriages were packed with key workers still required to attend their jobs.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has come under fierce criticism for reducing the number of trains running, which has left NHS staff and other employees in vital sectors at risk as they unintentionally flout social distancing rules during peak periods.
Passengers crowd onto a Jubilee line train on the way to work this morning during the coronavirus pandemic
Passengers wait for a Jubilee line train towards Stanmore in North London coming in six minutes’ time this morning
Commuters wait for a Jubilee line train this morning as concerns continue to be raised over crowded Tube services
But as Mr Khan again faced calls to implement a fuller service yesterday, cleaners in hazmat-style suits were filmed spraying an anti-viral substance onto seats and handrails. The spray is said to keep carriages safe for up to 30 days.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued the above guidance on Twitter this morning
The footage emerged as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps described Tube overcrowding as ‘unacceptable’.
He said Transport for London (TfL) had gone ‘too far’ in reducing services in a failed attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus and was now ‘struggling to recover.’
The comments were made during a closed Commons Transport Committee meeting between MPs via Skype on Wednesday. A note summarising the discussion was released to the media on Friday.
In light of Department for Transport guidance, Mr Shapps said he had raise six different points to improve the Tube overcrowding situation, including redeploying night staff during the day to run more trains.
He added: ‘The crowding was unacceptable. The situation had not been well handled.’
Social media users criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan today as Tube services remained crowded this morning
Passenger numbers on the Tube are already said to be down 91 per cent compared to the same period last year.
However, Mr Shapps said ‘more trains are needed’ not just to ease train overcrowding, but to eliminate crowds waiting at stations.
The anti-viral fluid being deployed on the trains – currently being used in hospitals – will also be used in stations and on the capital’s buses.
Despite the attempts to disinfect public transport, critics argue the measures do little to quell the spread of the virus given overcrowding issues.
Responding to footage of the cleaning regime on social media, commuters accused the Mayor of London of ‘throwing social distancing out the door’.
A passenger wears a mask on a London Underground Piccadilly line train later this morning in the capital
Commuters ride on a London Underground train on the Piccadilly line later this morning
One added: ‘Does it stop someone sneezing on someone in a packed carriage at rush hour?’
Transport Commissioner for London Mike Brown said: ‘In the same way as national rail services into London have been reduced, we are also running fewer Tube trains.
‘This is because about 30 per cent of our own drivers, station staff, controllers and maintenance teams are not able to come to work, including those self-isolating or ill with coronavirus.
‘We are running as many trains in the early morning as possible. There has been crowding on some sections of the Tube at these times as London has adapted to our new ways of working.’
He added that 13million emails have been sent to Londoners asking them to stop travelling.
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