Tube status: rush hour chaos after signal failure at King's Cross

A signal failure at King's Cross threw the journeys of thousands into chaos this morning, with the Hammersmith & City line, Circle line and Metropolitan line most severely affected.

The station, one of the London transport network's major hubs, reported minor issues related to signalling problems at around 6am. An hour later, the delays were upgraded to "severe", leaving rush hour commuters with little choice but to crowd the local buses.

Transport for London (TfL) cautioned travellers to avoid using the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines altogether if possible, with the ripple effect of the earlier delays set to hamper the line for some time to come.

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The Metropolitan line was also severely affected by the signalling problems at King's Cross, with no service at all for around half an hour on the busy Aldgate to Baker Street stretch. Although the central portion of the line is now getting back to normal, Wembley Park to Aldgate is still subject to major delays.

Meanwhile, the Central line was experiencing minor delays during rush hour for another reason. According to TfL's Twitter page, the extended wait times at Central line platforms were due to a "lack of trains".