London Underground line hit by IT failure

Underground

London's transport network took a massive hit yesterday after an IT error left travellers without the use of the Circle Line for several hours.

The underground line was closed for the entire morning rush after computers used to control signals, dating back to the 1980s, were found to have burnt out.

Although some of the line was up and running again quickly, many parts remained suspended for the rest of the day.

Delays were still troubling commuters this morning on the line, with suspensions between Mansion House and Liverpool Street stations.

Transport for London (TfL) claimed today's problem was down to a new fault and everything was back in working order by midday.

"Our engineers worked through the night to repair the problems which caused yesterday's suspension but a new problem developed this morning," a TfL spokesperson told IT PRO.

They added: "The bottom line is that it's exactly these kind of antiquated assets that we're seeking to replace with the upgrade programme we're carrying out at the moment."

Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.