London Underground fire disrupts major tube lines and businesses

A fire on the London Underground has cause major commuter chaos.

• London Underground services were suspended after a fire at an electrical substation in Maida Vale.
• The Bakerloo line is fully suspended; the Northern line is partially suspended between Euston and Morden.
• Power was restored, but resetting vital systems will take time, affecting services until 8pm (7am NZ time).

London Underground services have been suspended after a fire at an electrical substation.

The Elizabeth, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Northern lines, as well as the Overground’s Suffragette line, have all been affected.

The Bakerloo line has been fully suspended, while the Northern line is suspended from Euston to Kennington and from Stockwell to Morden.

A cable fault led to a fire at an electrical substation in the Cunningham Place and Aberdeen Place area in Maida Vale, a London Fire Brigade spokesman said.

Three metres of high-voltage cabling were destroyed, it is understood.

It follows a previous fire at the same substation a few weeks ago, which led to elderly and vulnerable residents being moved out of their homes.

The blip, or brief loss of power, caused vital systems to shut down. This included signalling-related systems used to control the trains, a source said.

They added that power had been restored, but that resetting the systems would take time.

Hundreds of businesses south of Oxford St were also reported to be affected, with power not set to be restored until after 6pm (5am NZ time).

The Elizabeth Line will be disrupted until 8pm (7am), National Rail has said.

On X, National Rail said: “A failure of the electricity supply between Abbey Wood and London Paddington means that all lines are blocked. Services across the Elizabeth line may be cancelled, delayed or revised. Disruption is expected until 17.30.”

The company later posted an update that “disruption is now expected until 20.00”.