'Chaos and overcrowding' at Finsbury Park station as delays hit Piccadilly and Victoria lines

Commuters described “chaos and overcrowding” at Finsbury Park Tube station after delays hit several lines on the London Underground network.

Huge swathes of passengers queued to get into the station as disruption hit the Victoria and Piccadilly lines.

Signal failures had sparked severe delays across the network on Monday morning including on the Victoria, Northern and District lines, while the Piccadilly line and Central lines offered a reduced service as repairs were carried out to trains.

Passengers using the Piccadilly line – the fourth busiest on the London Underground network - have already faced days of severe delays after “wet leaves on the track” damaged the wheels on several trains.

Photos emerged on social media of commuters squeezing their way into Finsbury Park station.

Transport for London said it had implement crowd control measures and held people back outside the station to stop the platforms inside become too busy.

Commuter Danielle Emina, 25, a business manager, told the Standard: “I left slightly early to get there at 8.25am to avoid this, and there were at least 1,000 people outside.

“One guy said he had been there for 45 minutes. And it was worse than carnival. The buses are now all rammed.

“Finsbury Park is the only connected station to another line on the area. Only other option is Manor Park which had only had one gate open when I tried an alternative route the other day.

“They've taken trains out of service on the Piccadilly, Victoria line is overcrowded. In short, it's not good enough an apology in your email when we're faced with it every day.

“The overcrowding is dangerous.”

Other travellers took to social media to vent their frustration.

Jimmy Cosgrove wrote: "Getting silly isn't it, all this #tfl #piccadillyline #FinsburyPark."

EJ Stedman said: "London can't cope with frost. Everything is broken. #FinsburyPark has decided not to bother this morning."

Chrissy said: "Never seen Finsbury Park station this busy before. #finsburypark @tfl."

Samantha Woodley said: "Great start to a Weds morning! Thanks #FinsburyPark #londonunderground #justtryingtogettowork #Londonlife."

A Transport for London spokesman said: "There is a reduced service on the Piccadilly line, coupled with some delays on the Victoria line this morning.

"Services aren't running at full capacity so we can't get people away and out of the station as quickly as we would like.

"That is why we implement crowd control measures. We have to hold people back outside the station to stop the platforms from becoming too busy.

"We appreciate customers' frustrations and we apologise for the delays they have experienced. Our number one priority is to ensure the station is safe for passengers."