Londoners have been left baffled after a train filled with ‘coal’ turned up while they were waiting for an Underground train.
Commuters waiting at Mile End station to catch the Central Line this week were in for an unexpected surprise – as railway action on the London Underground caused travel chaos across the capital.
Instead of the usual tube carriages, they were met with a long yellow train pulling carriages filled with what appeared to be coal.
Amelia, who was travelling into the city, wrote on TikTok: ‘Waiting for the central line and 9 thousand charcoals show up instead.’
It is believed the video was filmed on Sunday, when limited services ran ahead of widespread disruption this week.
Her video racked up more than 900,000 views, with people comparing the sight to something from ‘Victorian times’.
One person asked: ‘Is this what happens during tube strikes?!?’
‘Miner delays on the central line,’ one person joked, while Specsavers commented: ‘Central Heating Line.’
Londoners have been left baffled after a train filled with ‘coal’ turned up while they were waiting for an Underground train
Others said: ‘Hahahah literally travelled past this in Mile End tonight – a bunch of TfL staff sat on my tube started fangirling over it’;
‘Mate as if these tube prices aren’t high enough. Gotta be shovelling our own coal an everything now.’
One train fan, however, was quick to set the record straight. They wrote: ‘Looks like a ballast train, likely either bringing old ballast from an engineering works site or bringing new ballast to an engineering works site.
‘Not sure how often they run but haven’t seen many videos of them like this!’
The London Underground has a stock of trains to distribute ballast through open wagons.
According to TfL, the tracks are made up of ballast, which supports the sleepers, which then support the rails.
The ballast helps to hold the track in place, and also provides drainage.
As the Underground network is 150 years old and is used by millions of passengers every year, it requires regular maintenance.
Instead of the usual tube carriages, they were met with a long yellow train pulling carriages filled with what appeared to be coal
This week, passengers are facing travel misery across the capital this week as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) walk out of their £72,000-a-year jobs, bringing the London Underground to a halt.
Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are taking industrial action this week in a dispute over pay and hours.
While some Tube staff stand on the picket line, workers in London are packing onto buses, boats, bikes and trains amid gridlocked traffic and cycle lane closures.
Londoners have tried to board buses that were so full the doors could not shut – with huge numbers waiting at stops and for Overground trains, which are still running.
Downing Street on Tuesday said Londoners would ‘rightly be fed up’ of the strikes – but declined to comment on whether there should be more automation of the Tube network to prevent the prospect of further disruptive strikes in the future.
Even Prince Harry was caught up in the chaos when he was delayed by traffic in the capital on Tuesday on his way to visit a community recording studio in Nottingham.
A strike was also held by RMT members on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in a separate dispute.
Among the stations in chaos was Clapham Junction in South London, where swarms of workers were seen attempting to board an extremely busy rail service into the city.
Her video racked up more than 900,000 views, with people comparing the sight to something from ‘Victorian times’
The Elizabeth line, which is also still running, has also been overwhelmed with people amid the Tube network shutdown, with queues forming out of the station exits.
Transport for London (TfL) have issued a ‘severe delays’ alert on the Elizabeth line – spelling potential further trouble after a 31 per cent rise in passengers on Monday.
TfL has also confirmed the Northern line returned to operation with ‘minor delays’; while the Piccadilly line was running between Rayners Lane and Hammersmith and between Arnos Grove and Cockfosters only – with no service on the rest of the line.
But No10 dodged saying whether there should be more automation of the Tube network in order to prevent the prospect of further disruptive strikes in the future.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘Londoners will rightly be fed up yet again today as they face disruption on the way to work, on the way to dropping their kids off at school, on the way to hospital and GP appointments.
‘That’s why we want to see, in the immediate term, RMT and TfL get back around the table and work to resolve this situation. When it comes to running the transport network, that’s obviously a matter for TfL.
‘The PM’s own approach to Government and public services is absolutely to adopt technology in order to deliver better public services and reduce costs to the taxpayer.’
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called on London’s Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to intervene in the disputes.
Another commuter also filmed the train, writing: ‘The one time I needed to use the (smelly) Central Line’
‘There has been a total collapse of industrial relations on London Underground,’ he said.
Mr Dempsey said that as well as strikes on the Tube and DLR, disputes were looming over the pay and conditions of cleaners as well as the future of ticket offices on the Elizabeth Line.
Transport for London says there are no plans to close ticket offices despite claims by the RMT that it has uncovered plans to shut them.
Mr Dempsey said: ‘The mayor has to intervene. He keeps telling us to return to the negotiating table – well, if he invites us to a meeting, we will attend.
‘Our members are not asking for a king’s ransom. We want progress towards recognition about the impact of shift work.
‘We are not asking for an immediate drop from a 35-hour week to 32. We have been discussing this since 2018 and we are open to discussions.’
Amid the travel chaos, it has been revealed by the The Telegraph that the strikers’ demands include a so-called Priv travel card which would grant them cheap tickets and discounts to theme parks such as Legoland, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures.
Passengers wait to enter London Liverpool Street station for Elizabeth line services today
Cyclists make their way to work in London this morning during the ongoing Tube strike
It would also see them given discounts at Cadbury World and the London Eye, as well as guided tours at Buckingham Palace and a drag-themed party night in Soho.
The Conservative transport spokesman at City Hall, Keith Prince, said Londoners will not take kindly to seeing the city ‘brought to its knees’ so union members can ‘go on rollercoasters’.
He said: ‘The RMT has brought the capital to its knees to demand discounted theme park tickets and an extra day off a week.
‘It’s a joke – Londoners work hard for the things they want and if the RMT thinks they’re going to hold the city to ransom for a go on the rollercoasters then they’ll find out very quickly how little Londoners support them to do so.
‘This crisis cannot go on – where is the Mayor, and where is his leadership at this crucial time for our city?’
The card also gives its holders 75 per cent off mainline train tickets outside of London, and grants two-for-one access to multiple tourist locations across the country.
If granted, this would come on top of the existing benefits Tube drivers receive which entitle their loved ones to travel for free across the entire London public transport system.
A union source told the newspaper that ‘travel concessions are varied’ and ‘trips to Legoland don’t form part of any negotiation’.
