Misery on the evening commute, with severe delays on the Piccadilly Line expected to continue as half its trains are out of service

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Expect severe delays across the Piccadilly Line this evening after Transport for London said it was still struggling to deal with a shortage of trains. 

TfL has taken almost half of the Piccadilly Line fleet out of service in order to make repairs – this is more than usual and has been blamed mainly on poor weather conditions, and more specifically on the large quantities of wet leaves on tracks which causes problems with the trains' wheels.

Read more: Tube drivers now striking on the same day as next Southern walkout

As a result, TfL said a replacement bus service was in place between Acton Town and Rayners Lane/Uxbridge, with a reduced service operating on the rest of the line.

"I sincerely apologise to Piccadilly Line customers whose journeys have been disrupted this week," said Tony Matthews, general manager for the Piccadilly Line.

"We have had to take some Piccadilly Line trains out of service to repair their wheels, which unfortunately means we do not have a full fleet available. We’re working around the clock to fix the trains so that we can return to a good service as quickly as possible."

Commuters are facing difficulties using the line with a disrupted service and no trains running between Acton Town and Uxbridge. 

https://twitter.com/piccadillyline/status/802051506027593728

The news comes ahead of a planned strike by Tube drivers (including those on the Piccadilly Line) on 6 and 7 December – the same day a walkout is planned for Southern rail services. 

People affected by the delays took to Twitter to vent their frustrations:

https://twitter.com/addersorotters/status/802053423680159744