Thousands of commuters using London Underground’s Central Line face severe disruption this morning after trackside equipment was damaged by vandals overnight.
Services are disrupted between Epping and Loughton, after travellers stripped copper cable from the track while trains were not operational during the night, GB News understands.
Passengers travelling beyond Loughton are advised to take an emergency shuttle there, and change for further connections.
Transport for London (TfL) provides emergency or temporary shuttle and replacement services when major disruptions, engineering works, or structural closures happen.
In response to the disruptions, tickets are currently being accepted on London Buses and Greater Anglia services between Liverpool Street and Harlow Town.
Transport for London has confirmed minor delays on the rest of the Central Line, with rail replacement services and further disruption throughout the day likely on this section of the track as engineers operate a fix.
A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “We were called at around 9.50pm on Wednesday August 26 to reports of cable theft in the Theydon Bois area. An investigation is ongoing.
“Anyone with information that could help police should text BTP on 61016 using the reference 847 of 26 August.”
A TfL spokesman said: “We apologise to customers on the Central line for the disruption to their journeys this morning.
“This was caused by the theft of cable near Theydon Bois, which is currently being repaired.
“Once we have repaired the damage, we will work to provide a good service as quickly as we can. The theft has been reported to the British Transport Police.”