Follow this link for up-to-date information on the progress of the investigation:

 

 

Statement from the Metropolitan Police

We are aware of emails in circulation that advise the reader of the threat of another terrorist attack.

Following the attacks of July 7, extra policing patrols have been put in place across London, with officers from the MPS, City of London Police and British Transport Police providing visible reassurance, advice and support, and also to act as a deterrent.

All police forces are reviewing their own counter-terrorist plans, undertaking community assessments and considering appropriate extra patrols in potentially vulnerable areas and transport hubs.

However, we are not aware of any specific threat at this time.

We would advise the public to remain alert and vigilant, and to inform police of anything they see or hear that is suspicious. The confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline number is 0800 789 321.

 

Service Update 15 July 2005

Following agreement with the Police the Victoria line is now stopping at King's Cross St. Pancras.

We will not be in a position to add to the current level of service on the Metropolitan, Circle, District and Hammersmith and City lines for a number of days.

The service on the Piccadilly line will remain suspended between Arnos Grove and Hyde Park Corner and for the foreseeable future.

Thank you for your continued patience as we work to resume full services.

Click here to view all the live travel news

Mike Brown
Chief Operating Officer

 

Dark Fire  

Statement of Tim O' Toole, London Underground MD, to TfL Board

I want to start out by thanking Bob and the Mayor by going to site and not relying on reports from senior people - but talking to people directly. It had an enormous impact on employees who are so grateful. I spent all day taking calls about their thanks. I don't think you should underestimate the impact that leadership has on people who have been stressed.

I think the organisation did distinguish itself in two ways:
Number one, in the way it reacted to the horror of bombs exploding on crowded carriages; and secondly in the resilience we showed in bringing the service back to a full service everywhere, except lines affected by blast sites, at first light the next day.

Timeline

I'll go through the timeline for you - of course as we now know there were 3 virtually simultaneous bombs that exploded on the LU network at around 8.50am. There was an outer rail Circle line train going eastbound between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, train 204; a westbound inner rail train going between Edgware Road and Paddington; and a Piccadilly line train - 331 - going between King's Cross and Russell Square.

Of course, at the time of the first explosion, we at the centre had no information. The following information comes from the timeline at the NCC:

• At 8.50am - almost right on when the explosion occurred, a call is recorded from a station supervisor at Aldgate saying an explosion or loud bang was heard.
• At 8.51 a shift engineer - so this is at power control centre - reported a traction current had failed on one part of the network that was being fed by a particular box supply. You will recall at this point we had been through this before, we had a rather traumatic experience 2 years ago, August 28th, where we had to deal with a loss of power on a major part of the network.
• At 8.51 again, 1 minute from the incident, the Central line control centre called to say a large bang had been reported near Liverpool Street.
• At 8.51, there was another call from the Metropolitan line control centre, saying a sound of an explosion near train 204 in the area of Aldgate.
• At 8.53 a call was recorded from the Piccadilly line saying a tunnel telephone line had been activated at Russell Square thereby discharging traction current westbound between Holloway Road and Russell Square.
• At 8.59 the GSM at Edgware Road called to say we might have a person under a train, we might have a derailed train, that a train might have hit the tunnel wall. At this time - 8.59 - a call went to London Fire Brigade and to the London Ambulance Service to dispatch units to all three sites.
• At 9.03 the London Ambulance Service called back to confirm they were en route.
• At 9.11 the Piccadilly line controller called again to report the sound of a bang in the area of Russell Square.
• At 9.15 we declared a Code Amber for the rest of the network - beginning a controlled evacuation of the network. Over the next hour we moved over 200,000 people off the network without a single injury, confining the damage to the three sites.

I can speak with certainty about this - this isn't based on some report that came to me because I witnessed most of this personally. I was in my office. I had just returned from the daily conference call with the Infracos - Tube Lines and Metronet - going over incidents of the prior day, when I received a text message reporting loss of power to the network.

Typically I would make a phone call to find out what had happened but I think because of the experience of two years ago when I saw something this dramatic I marched off immediately to the NCC.

When I went into the network control centre it was almost at the time or slightly after when Steve Goszka, the GSM at Edgware Road, made his call.

I would also like to mention something else at this time to reflect upon something the Mayor pointed out - our work with resilience. Steve Goszka had been on the job for two weeks; prior to that he had worked with us at the centre, prior to that he was on secondment with the resilience team - he was fully alert to the issues which I think is one of the reasons he reacted before anyone else did.

Code Amber

There is a complete misunderstanding by some members of the media as to the significance and timing of calling a Code Amber - the Code Amber is completely irrelevant to rushing assistance to the three sites. That was happening immediately.

Number one it was happening as employees on site were doing… I'll talk about that a little bit more in a moment…but as soon as reports came in that we weren't dealing with an incident that we had seen in the past - that is a loss of power that would have called for a re-routing of the power source which is what people were looking into - but we were dealing with a train event, we immediately called the emergency services and we got an immediate response from them.

Calling a Code Amber had relevance to all the other trains on the network - it was completely irrelevant to dealing with sites where there had been blasts. It was not a decision you reach lightly. If we called a Code Amber every time we had a dramatic incident on this old network, which needs to be rebuilt as we all know too well, we would be throwing people out on the streets on a weekly basis. Plus when you do it, it is a very difficult thing to do - to move that many people without injury, if you look at any study that the military conducts over the likelihood of injury when you move that many people, you can see that; this is decision you only take when you know you are confronting a very difficult situation.

Evacuation

Following initial reports, and as we were evacuating network, we had one team concentrating on focusing delivery of emergency resources and other resources to the sites and getting further reports, and we split another part of management to think about what we would be doing later, 4 hours and 24 hours later, because at that time of course, shortly thereafter the bomb exploded on the bus we knew we were dealing with crime scenes.

We knew we would not be given those parts of the railway, so we immediately began planning alternative timetables, and operation plans, to see what we could return to service, because our thoughts from the beginning were to get the network up and running as soon as it were possible.

It was really professionalism that took us through the day and an obligation to London and to the country to bring the network back - so we were analysing how to design the network. What would we do with the drivers? We had drivers about to timeout from early shift, would we bring in drivers from late shift? - How were we going to get them to work? We were dealing with a London that had bus services withdrawn - we weren't providing a service. We had to ask ourselves what was the smart move, were we going to consume their time and not be able to use them.

We had to consider what we would do with all those trains which were scattered across the network - how were we going to get drivers to them and get them back to the depot to prepare them for next day?

We had to determine what were we going to do about station staff - it would be one thing to perform miracles and get trains running but what if we couldn't open any stations and provide services. All those people had to be relieved and new people bought in.

Service recovery

And so we began a series of hourly conference calls with our general managers who did all the heavy lifting, sorting these problems out, reporting on the state of the network throughout the day and planning recovery of the service.

Mike Brown, the Chief Operating Officer, and his group performed brilliantly. Mike immediately split off his command. He took all responsibility from running part of the network from Howard Collins who is service director of SSL and instead put him in charge of service recovery. Howard continues on that duty and is working with the British Transport Police and our own engineers planning recovery at all of these three sites.

But of course the story is not about management. It's really about the professionalism of people in the field which is why in my mind it is so outrageous about these reports about delay.

There was no delay - people in the field reacted immediately - they acted as planned. It is interesting when Bob Kiley (Transport for London Commissioner) and the Mayor talked about the planning that was borne out. Just two and a half weeks prior to this we ran a live exercise at Tower Hill for just such an incident. That is why these people are so good, they are so practiced. There was no panic, no hysteria. They follow routine that they understand, know and trust.

We had four drivers on those trains who immediately took control of the situation and calmed people. You have read reports yourself - they are uncontradicted by the brilliant performance those drivers put in.

We had station staff and local management who plunged into tunnels unhesitatingly to deal with horrific circumstances. And I would like to point something out here - we talk about the violence in the media, on TV and in the movies. But actually it is all quite antiseptic, if you think about images shown, it's not what our people saw - they went onto trains seeing people with limbs severed, with most horrific injuries, clothes blown off bodies, only parts of chest cavities remaining, really horrific stuff. Yet they went in unhesitatingly following their training, moved people out within 2 minutes.

Remarkable

It was a remarkable performance. We had people at Edgware Road walking people out within 2 minutes. We had reports of off-duty drivers on their way to work, saw what was going on and immediately ran into tunnels to help. We honoured one of those drivers just recently who went into the train at Aldgate and was pulling open doors, moving people to safety.

Even station staff that didn't go into tunnels were receiving injured, comforting them, giving them tea, holding them, applying basic first aid.

We think we got a great service out of the emergency services. We think they deserve all of the credit they have got but fact of matter is, it is impossible to be there immediately. During those first crucial minutes it is our people that are taking the burden of horrific scenes.

Another emergency service that I would like to mention here - another group that gets ignored is the Emergency Response Unit, a division of Tube Lines that was transferred with the PPP. A group of men and women that respond whenever there is an emergency during traffic hours, if a broken rail occurs, they come and plate it until it can be fixed that night. They were there as quickly as the emergency services, and they were working in some of the toughest conditions, the Piccadilly line for example - and those people deserve a lot of credit.

Magnificent job

It isn't just about us - we are constantly reminded we are surrounded by Londoners who want to do the right thing. There are many examples but one in particular…there is a Marks & Spencer on Edgware Road. The manager without any thought, without checking with HQ, completely opened her doors to us. She emptied shelves of all food, all drink and water: provided to passengers and to staff - literally expended thousands and thousands of pounds of inventory. I went over the other day and thanked her and her staff. I have written to Stuart Rose to praising M&S as a great corporate citizen that should be recognised.

There are other examples; a church near Aldgate opened its doors. I have heard of another M&S near Liverpool Street. People generally do the right thing and it is absolutely edifying.

In short it was an awful day and the staff did a magnificent job.

 

Dark Fire  

 

London attacks page: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2005/london_explosions/default.stm 

 

 

Staff to stand alongside passengers as silence falls across the network

Transport for London staff will stand together with passengers at 12 noon tomorrow to remember those killed or injured in last Thursday's terror attacks.

Tube stations will fall silent and buses will pull over, where possible, as staff across the network observe the two minute silence. Many will be wearing black arm bands.

In the morning London Underground(LU) staff at more than 60 stations will be collecting donations from the public in support of the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund - launched last week by the Mayor in association with the British Red Cross.

Mike Brown, LU's Chief Operating said: "It is right that we stand together with our customers to remember all of those who were tragically affected by last Thursday's awful events."

Peter Hendy, MD of Surface Transport added: "As many of our staff as possible will observe the two minute silence as a mark of respect to those innocent travellers who were killed or injured."

Ends

 

Statement from the Transport for London Board

This statement has been issued on behalf of the Transport for London Board following the TfL Board meeting held earlier today.

"The Transport for London Board would like to express its deepest sympathy with those who were killed or injured in last Thursday's attacks on the Tube and bus networks. Our thoughts are also with their families, friends and loved ones.

"The Board would like to express its heartfelt thanks to all TfL staff who worked so professionally and tirelessly in extremely challenging conditions immediately following the attacks. Their selfless actions to help those who had been injured is a testament to the quality and calibre of public transport workers in London.

"The Board would also like to thank all the emergency services, called within minutes of the attacks, for the way they worked with Tube and bus staff and the heroic efforts they made to help those who were affected by the attacks.

"We would also like to take the opportunity to praise the leadership shown by the Mayor, Commissioner, Tim O'Toole and Peter Hendy. Their professionalism in dealing with one of London's darkest days should rightly be recognised.

"We can also be proud of the fact that, within a matter of hours, the bus network was running in central London again, and within 24 hours most of the Tube was operating normally. Only those lines directly affected by the attacks are disrupted.

"The response of all TfL staff to the tragic events last Thursday was a credit to London and we should rightly be proud of their actions."

 

 

13 July service update: 1400 hours

We are working with the Police and hope to have a full service on the following lines five days after the investigations are completed at Aldgate and Edgware Road:

• Circle
• District
• Hammersmith & City
• Metropolitan

At King's Cross St. Pancras, we cannot yet predict with any confidence when the full Piccadilly line service will resume.

We will update you when we have more information.

Thank you for your patience whilst we do our best to return services to normal.

 

'We're not afraid' movement pictures: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4675027.stm

 

 The ICE (In Case of Emergency) campaign summary: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4674331.stm

I think the ICE thing is actually an incredibly good idea...

 

Interview with the driver of the train blown up at Edgware road: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4671767.stm

 

 

Music lovers will be able to get to their concerts

To help passengers while the central section of the Piccadilly line is shut down, including those going to the Proms and the REM concert, the planned suspension of the District line between Earl's Court and Whitechapel will not go ahead on Saturday and Sunday 16 and 17 July.

The engineering work will be postponed not only on the District line, but on the Waterloo & City line as well, which will run as normal on Saturday 16 July.

This will help get the expected 85,000 fans to and from the REM concert in Hyde Park on Saturday, as well as music lovers going to the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington on Saturday and Sunday.

London Underground is working with Metronet, who are responsible for the renewal and maintenance of the District and Waterloo & City lines to reschedule this work.

 

Here are some links to pictures showing the extensions taking place as part of the London 2012 Olympic development:

Large: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/image-gallery/images/rez-low/l-2012-Legacy-Map-(inc-Work.jpg

Huge: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/image-gallery/images/rez-high/h-2012-Legacy-Map-(inc%20Works).jpg

 

Here is a page with more pictures on, including the images from 07/07/05 from the computers monitoring the track around Edgeware Road and Aldgate

 

 

+

 

Here is the BBC's page for everything to do with the London Attacks:

 

 

 

Statement from Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London

Statement from Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
As he took the Tube to work this morning Ken Livingstone said:

"The emergency response last Thursday and since has been outstanding. I want to recognise the contribution made by the city's transport workers.

"The Tube staff were the first people into those awful situations underground. The calm efficiency with which they evacuated the trains saved many lives. They then worked miracles, with their colleagues on the buses, to bring most of the network back into service within 24 hours.

"Along with the emergency services and medical teams, they have earned the gratitude and respect of every Londoner."

  

How to help Tube staff on Monday / service update

Passengers should be reassured that safety is the top priority for London Underground, the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police. Underground staff will be out in stations reassuring passengers that the Tube is safe to travel on. Approaching 4000 Underground staff are on duty during the morning peak on weekdays.

A number of Tube stations had to be temporarily closed on Friday due to unattended items being left in stations.

During these difficult times, we especially ask that passengers be extra careful not to leave belongings behind or leave litter on trains or at stations as these will cause unnecessary security alerts.

Passengers should remain vigilant and question any suspect items or behaviour and immediately inform Tube staff or the Police.
We expect that a normal service will operate on the following lines:

• Bakerloo, Central, East London, Jubilee, Northern, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines.
• The Circle line remains suspended. Hammersmith & City line will operate between Hammersmith and Paddington only. There will be no service on the Metropolitan line between Moorgate and Aldgate and on the District line there will be no service between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road.
• On the Piccadilly line there will be no service between Hyde Park Corner and Arnos Grove and between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge. A special bus service will call at Arnos Grove and Finchley Central to provide a connection with the Northern line. A second service calling at Bounds Green, Wood Green, Turnpike Lane and Seven Sisters will operate to connect with Victoria line services. Additional bus services are operating on route 91 between Holloway Road and Euston via Caledonian Road and King's Cross St Pancras.
• King's Cross St Pancras Underground station is open for the Metropolitan line only and there is no interchange with other Underground lines.

London Underground expects that passenger numbers will be lower tomorrow compared to a normal Monday in London but as the days go on we anticipate that Londoners will return to using the Tube in the same numbers as they did before.

 

 

 

Piccadilly Line still suspended between Hyde Park Corner and Arnos Grove. (And likely to remain suspended for a few weeks).

New suspension (at the moment) between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge (Change onto the Metropolitan Line at  Rayners Lane).

Special Bus Service to Finchely Central (Northen Line) still in operation.

 

This page explains the details of the travel situation in London at the moment, and how it should gradually restore to full service:

 

This is a particularly good page, with comments from witnesses, people who want to express their thanks to the emergency services, and people who want to express their feelings at this time:

 

This link has lots of good new pictures of the incidents, some of which are shown below:

 

 

 

This link has some pictures showing what sort of a day Friday 8th July has been in London:

 

 

15:15 - Transport for London Update

This morning, London Underground (LU) operated normal services on the Bakerloo, Central, East London, Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines. The Circle and Hammersmith & City lines are suspended with the Piccadilly, Metropolitan and District lines part-suspended. LU was able to operate 95% of scheduled services during the morning peak.

Our advice to passengers is to check latest travel information and allow extra time for your journeys.

Extra security checks are in place but passengers should remain vigilant and question any suspect items or behaviour and immediately inform Tube staff or the Police.

We especially ask that passengers be extra careful not to leave belongings behind or leave litter on trains or at stations as these will cause unnecessary security alerts at a time when the emergency services are at full stretch.

Tube

A number of Tube stations had to be temporarily closed this morning due to unattended items being left in stations.

Extensive damage has been caused to the three trains in yesterday's terrorist attacks at Edgware Road, Aldgate and Russell Square. The track at these three locations has also been damaged. No sections of tunnel have collapsed.

We will not be able to identify the extent of damage until we can access the three sites and undertake structural surveys.

A criminal investigation is ongoing and takes precedence but as soon as we get control back from the Police we will be working extremely hard to get services back to normal.

We hope to get the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines back up and running within days but we do not expect services on the central section of the Piccadilly line to be restored for several weeks.

One London Underground employee was injured in yesterday's attacks. He is currently in a critical condition.

Passenger numbers will be lower today than on a normal Friday in London but as the days go on we anticipate that Londoners will return to using the Tube in the same numbers they did before.

Tim O'Toole, Managing Director, London Underground said: "This was the worst terrorist attack in the history of London Underground. Innocent individuals travelling to work or going about their normal daily business lost their lives on a system they trusted to get them about London. Hundreds others were injured. My deepest condolences and those of all Underground staff are with the friends and families of all those killed and injured.

"I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all London Underground staff for their heroic response to yesterday's atrocities. Prior to the arrival of the emergency services they had to work in the most appalling and difficult of situations that most of us will thankfully never experience. In particular, I want to pay tribute to the staff of the Emergency Response Unit who played a critical role in removing the dead and injured from the carnage underground. Along with emergency service personnel who worked tirelessly throughout the day; they were a credit to London.

"The magnificent and calm response shown by passengers also helped to make a very difficult situation better.

"With 3 million passengers a day the difficulty in today's global security climate is striking the balance between running a mass transit service and introducing security measures that prevent people travelling in London. In conjunction with the Police, we are reviewing our current security arrangements and will introduce new measures if they so request."

London Buses

London Buses are running a near-normal service, although this may be affected by temporary road closures. There are no bus related problems this morning but services are being affected by security alerts at Liverpool Street and Bishopsgate.

Buses are accepting London Underground tickets in Zone 1 and on routes from Hammersmith to Aldgate, from Hyde Park Corner to Cockfosters, and between Upminster and Whitechapel.

Peter Hendy, Managing Director, Surface Transport said: "Our bus drivers and staff worked hard yesterday and were out in force again today to keep London moving after yesterday's terrible events. Buses carried hundreds of walking wounded to hospitals, providing valuable assistance to London's ambulance service. I am incredibly proud of them and I am sure that Londoners will join me in thanking them for doing a fantastic job in the most difficult of situations."

 

Here are the latest updates for the situation in Arnos Grove:

 

All bus routes running reasonably well

Service on the tube between Arnos Grove and Cockfosters still running

Special Rail Connection bus between Arnos Grove and Finchely Central still running. Because there are a large amount of buses around the place with nowhere to go, please expect some delays on the nearby roads tommorrow morning.

No definate date, as far as I know, on when the tube service between Hyde Park Corner and Arnos Grove will resume, but not for a few weeks due to the fact that one carriage from the bomb between Kings Cross and Russell Square has still not been reached, and there is some suspected tunnel damage, which will take a very long time to fix. I have found this page on the BBC website which has a lot of information on how the travel situation in London will look for the next few weeks, and it mentions twice that the damaged tunnel on the Piccadilly Line will take several weeks to fix:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4659259.stm

 

Here is a link to the BBC page specifically for the Russel Square page, so you can see exactly what happened:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/london_blasts/html/russell_sq.stm

 

Here is a link to the TfL realtime service distruption map, so you can see exactly what areas of the tube are having problems or closed:

http://map.tfl.gov.uk/realtime.asp

 

Dark Fire  

David Couzens was on a train behind the one hit by the blast, which killed 21 people. He filmed this amazing video of part of the evacuation off a Piccadilly line train:

 

 

Passenger Ellis Leeper used his mobile phone to film the Piccadilly Line tube evacuation after bombs brought the system to a halt.

Mr Leeper spent more than two hours stuck in the carriage with other passengers and had to "jump between trains" to get out.

Here is his film:

 

 

The London Underground flag flies at half-mast over 55 Broadway

 

What a week - Live8, London 2012, G8, G8 Protests, 7/7 Attacks - First Suicude bomb attacks in mainland Europe, and the UK, biggest terrorist attack on the UK, and the most deadly event on London's transport...If every week was like this one, then no one would have any excuse to be bored...

 

Here is an image that Google.co.uk are displaying on their homepage, and I think it is very appropriate...

 

 

 

Latest pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture below will take you to a page on the BBC website, where you will see another picture that is exactly the same, and when you click on it, it will launch the BBC Video Player. From here you can watch pre-recorded reports, or watch BBC News 24 Live.

 

 

At least 38 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a series of explosions across London. The BBC News website is covering events as they unfold (all times in BST):

2341 Police re-opened the majority of the roads previously closed by cordons in central London. But cordons remain in place in Woburn Place, Tavistock Place, Burton Street and Flaxman Terrace.

2105 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives back in Gleneagles, Scotland to rejoin the G8 summit.

1947 Buckingham Palace says that Queen Elizabeth II will visit some of those caught up in the London attacks on Friday.

1940 The UK foreign secretary, Jack Straw, says the London attacks bear all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda. Mr Straw, who has temporarily taken over as chairman of the G8 summit in Scotland, said neither the British police nor the intelligence services had any warning of the attacks.

1816 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday orders US embassies across the globe to review their security posture in the wake of the London attacks, the US State Department says.

1813 The number of people confirmed dead in the London bomb attacks has risen to 37, Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Paddock says. Twenty-one were killed at Kings Cross/Russell Square, seven died at Edgware Road, seven died at Liverpool Street and two died on the bus at Upper Woburn Place. A further 700 were injured, 300 of whom were taken to various London hospitals by ambulance.

1753 The UN Security Council unanimously passes a resolution condemning the London attacks, saying it regards any act of terrorism as "a threat to peace and security".

1732 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair promises the "most intense" police and security forces action to bring those who carried out the London attacks to justice. He says the terrorists "act in the name of Islam" but he knows most Muslims worldwide "deplore this act of terrorism". He insists that in the face of these attacks the British people remain resolute: "It is a very sad day for the British people but we will hold true to the British way of life."

1657 All major West End theatre productions are cancelled for tonight - something which has not happened since World War II, apart from on the days of state funerals.

Blast timeline 0851 Seven people die in a blast on a train 100 yards from Liverpool Street station 0856 21 people die in a blast on a train between Russell Square and King's Cross stations 0917 Five people die in blast on a train at Edgware Road station 0947 An unknown number die in a blast on a bus at Tavistock Place.

1653 The Union Jack flag will be flown at half mast on all UK government buildings tomorrow, a Department for Culture spokesman says.

1651 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she shares in the world's outrage at the bombings. "This is an outrage, an attack against innocent people, many of whom were simply trying to go to work. ... And it just reminds us of the tough fight that we have in the war on terrorism but we are united as a civilised world against this type of barbarity," she said.

1635 The Union Jack flag flying over Buckingham Palace is lowered to half mast at Queen Elizabeth II's request.

1609 London transport officials report that all tube lines in the city remain closed, although it is hoped some of the lines unaffected by the blasts will reopen on Friday. All main overland train stations apart from Kings Cross and Victoria are now open. It is hoped that bus services will resume in central London later this afternoon.

1603 Scotland Yard issues a casualty hotline number for people worried about their relatives after this morning's bombings in London. The number is 0870 1566 344.

1555 US raises its terror alert level for rail and subway systems, but not for airlines, officials say.

1546 London police say there have been no arrests in connection with the blasts so far and that they are "keeping an open mind as to who the perpetrators might be".  

1533 London ambulance services report that 45 people were seriously injured in the blasts, sustaining injuries such as severe burns, amputations, chest and blast injuries. A further 300 sustained minor injuries, such as lacerations and smoke inhalation.

1525 Police confirm that at 33 people have been killed in the London blasts. At least seven were killed in an explosion on a tube train near Aldgate East station. At least another 21 were killed in an explosion on a tube train in the Kings Cross/Russell Square area. Five have been confirmed killed in the Edgware Road station blast and there were fatalities on the bus attacked near Woburn Square, although how many is not yet known.

1510 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives back in Downing Street.

1506 Scotland Yard issues a casualty hotline number for those affected by the London blasts - 0870 1566 344.

1458 Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, joins other religious leaders in condemning the attacks, saying "as with all other people in the community, we totally condemn the perpetrators of what appears to be this series of co-ordinated attacks in London which tragically has led to several fatalities and a large number of casualties."

1418 A Transport for London spokeswoman says the bus hit by the explosion was a number 30, travelling from Hackney to Marble Arch.

1353 Russian President Vladimir Putin expresses his condolences over the attacks and calls on all countries to unite in the fight against international terrorism.

1344 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, describes the attacks as appalling and calls on all religious leaders to stand and work together for the wellbeing of the nation.

1333 US President George W Bush, speaking at the Gleneagles summit in Scotland, condemns the attacks, saying that the blasts show the war on terror must continue.

1325 UK Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves Gleneagles summit in Chinook helicopter.

1313 The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, condemns a "cowardly terrorist attack" and says Londoners responded "calmly and courageously".

1307 G8 leaders issue a statement, read by Tony Blair, saying: "We condemn utterly these barbaric attacks"

1255 Home Secretary Charles Clarke tells the House of Commons that four explosions had been confirmed, three on trains and four on a bus. "We do not know who or what organisations are responsible for these terrible criminal acts," he says. He says the Underground will remain closed all day

Shadow home secretary David Davis said the attacks were "of almost unspeakable depravity and wickedness". Liberal Democrat spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell expressed the house's sympathies to those affected and appreciation to the emergency services

1246 Pope Benedict XVI condemns the "inhuman" attacks

1215 The ambulance service says there are people still trapped at King's Cross station, and efforts are being made to rescue them

1210 The BBC's Security Correspondent Frank Gardner says BBC monitoring services have located a website linked to al-Qaeda with a 200-word statement saying it carried out the bombings

1205 Prime Minister Tony Blair, at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, says there has been "a series of terrorist attacks in London... people have died and are seriously injured... It is reasonably clear this is designed and timed to coincide with the opening of the G8". He says he will return to London within hours, but that the summit will continue without him

LOCATIONS EMERGENCY SERVICES WERE CALLED TO Edgware Road King's Cross Liverpool Street Russell Square Aldgate East Moorgate Tavistock Square

1205 The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, said: "This is a grave day for London. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and bereaved"

1130 Signs on major roads into London warn: "Avoid London. Area closed. Turn on radio"

1126 The president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, blames terrorism for a "co-ordinated series of attacks" and "confirmed deaths".

1125 "We have at least two fatalities, but still unconfirmed," a police spokesman tells the AFP news agency

1118 London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair tells the BBC he knows of "about six explosions", one on a bus and the others related to Underground stations. He says he believes the six affected areas are Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate, but says it is "still a confusing situation". He advises Londoners to "stay where you are - all of London's transport is currently disabled" - he refuses to confirm any fatalities

1055 A doctor tells Reuters there are at least 90 casualties at Aldgate station

1053 Home Secretary Charles Clarke makes a statement outside Downing Street about "dreadful incidents" causing "terrible injuries". He says Prime Minister Tony Blair has been informed and advises the public in London not to make unnecessary journeys

1051 A passenger on a train at Edgware Road says he saw several bodies in the wreckage. A police spokesman says two trains remain stuck in tunnels at Edgware Road

1049 Police say there are serious casualties, but no deaths are confirmed, Associated Press reports

1039 All London hospitals have been put on major incident alert, a hospital spokesman tells PA

1025 Transport union officials say they have reports of explosions on three buses, PA says

1025 PA reports two buses damaged in explosions - one in Russell Square and another in Tavistock Square. Witness, Belinda Seabrook said of the Russell Square blast: "I was on the bus in front and heard an incredible bang, I turned round and half the double decker bus was in the air"

1025 The BBC's Andrew Marr, with the prime minister in Gleneagles, says Number 10 is "still unsure" whether the explosions are a terrorist attack

1023 British Transport Police confirm an explosion on a bus in Tavistock Square

1021 Scotland Yard reports "multiple explosions" in London, the Press Association reports

1014 An eyewitness tells PA that a bus has been ripped apart in an explosion in central London

1009 Witness Christina Lawrence, who was on a train leaving Kings Cross, tells BBC News 24: "There was a loud bang in the tunnel and the train just stopped and all of a sudden it was filled with black, gassy smoke and we couldn't breathe"

1002 Scotland Yard says it is dealing with a "major incident"

0940 British Transport Police say power surge incidents have occurred on the Underground at Aldgate, Edgware Road, King's Cross, Old Street and Russell Square stations

0933London Underground reports "another incident at Edgware Road" station, PA reports

0933 Passengers are told that all London Underground services are being suspended because of a power fault across the network, PA reports

0924 British Transport Police say the incident was possibly caused by a collision between two trains, a power cut or a power cable exploding. Police report "walking wounded"

0915 Press Association reports emergency services called to London's Liverpool Street Station after reports of an explosion

0849 An incident on the Metropolitan Line between Liverpool Street and Aldgate is reported to British Transport Police

 

 

10:00 hours - Today's transport services

Additional TfL staff are on duty across the London Underground and London Buses networks providing passengers with the latest travel information.

Additional TfL staff are on duty across the London Underground and London Buses networks providing passengers with the latest travel information.

London Underground

Passengers are advised to check the latest travel information for their routes by calling TfL travel information on 020 7222 1234 or visiting www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/travelinfo

Near Normal service:

Bakerloo, Central, East London Line, Jubilee, Northern, Victoria and Waterloo & City

Restricted service:

District
No service High St Kensington to Edgware Road.
No service to Olympia.
Reduced Wimbledon to High St Kensington service to operate.

Metropolitan
No service Baker Street to Aldgate.
Near normal service north of Baker Street.

Piccadilly
Services will run:
Heathrow to Hyde Park Corner (every 5 mins)
Acton Town to Rayners Lane shuttle (every 10 mins)
Cockfosters to Arnos Grove (every 10 mins)
Replacement bus services will operate from Arnos Grove to Finchley Central for transfer to the Northern line.

No service:

Circle
Hammersmith & City

London Buses

London Buses are running a near-normal service, although this may be affected by temporary road closures. Routes which use the roads around Russell Square, Woburn Place and Aldgate High Street will be diverted. Regular security checks will continue to take place on each bus and at all bus stations and garages for the foreseeable future. Buses will accept London Underground tickets in Zone 1 and on routes from Hammersmith to Aldgate, from Hyde Park Corner to Cockfosters, and between Upminster and Whitechapel.

Roads

Roads around Russell Square, Woburn Place and Aldgate High Street will be closed for up to the next 48 hours.

Congestion charge

The congestion charge will not be in effect during Friday. Advice to drivers remains not to travel through central London during this period.

22.30 hours - TfL update on Friday services

Additional TfL staff will be on duty across the London Underground and London Buses networks providing passengers with the latest travel information.

We are encouraging our passengers and staff to remain vigilant, to question who owns items that remain unattended and to report any unattended items or suspicious activity to transport staff or the Police.

London Underground

London Underground has confirmed the following expected service patterns for Friday 8th July. However, this may be subject to potential changes.

Passengers are advised to check the latest travel information for their routes by calling TfL travel information on 020 7222 1243 or visiting www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/travelinfo

Near Normal service

Bakerloo
Central
East London Line
Jubilee
Northern
Victoria
Waterloo & City

Restricted service

District

No service High St Kensington to Edgware Road
No service to Olympia
Reduced Wimbledon to High St Kensington service to operate

Metropolitan

No service Baker Street to Aldgate
Near normal service north of Baker Street

Piccadilly

Services will run:

• Heathrow to Hyde Park Corner (every 5 mins)
• Acton Town to Rayners Lane shuttle (every 10 mins)
• Cockfosters to Arnos Grove (every 10 mins)

Replacement bus services will operate from Arnos Grove to Finchley Central for transfer to the Northern line.

No service

Circle
Hammersmith & City

We hope to operate a replacement bus service along the northern section of the Circle Line, many Circle line stations are within walking distance to alternative stations, for example Warren Street is a five minute walk from Euston Square.

London Buses

London Buses will attempt to run a full service. Only those routes using the roads around Russell Square, Woburn Place and Aldgate High Street will be diverted. Regular security checks will continue to take place on each bus and at all bus stations and garages for the foreseeable future.

Roads

Roads around Russell Square, Woburn Place and Aldgate High Street will be closed for up to the next 48 hours.

Congestion charge

The congestion charge will not be in effect during Friday.

TfL's advice to drivers remains not to travel through central London during this period.

 

London travel information

08 July 2005

DUE to the four incidents on London's transport network on Thursday, transport services in London were and still are severely disrupted.

On Thursday at 9.46am, the London Underground was suspended and all stations commenced evacuation following incidents at: Aldgate station  heading towards Liverpool Street station on the Hammersmith & City line; Russell Square station heading towards Kings Cross station on the Piccadilly line; and Edgware Road station heading towards Paddington station on the Hammersmith & City line.

Zone 1 bus services were temporarily suspended and safety checks were undertaken on all buses that remained in operation and at all bus garages.

The congestion charge was suspended yesterday as Transport for London advised drivers not to come into central London. The Docklands Light Railway and some national rail services were also suspended as a precautionary measure.

Emergency services responded immediately to all incidents and dealt with a large number of casualties who were taken to hospitals across London.

The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: ‘London has been the target of a cowardly terrorist attack. Londoners have responded calmly and courageously.

‘I commend the professionalism and courage of the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London staff, the Ambulance, Fire and other emergency services.

‘On behalf of all Londoners, I want to express my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those who have been killed and to all of those who have been injured.

‘Innocent people coming from all of London’s communities have been targeted by this indiscriminate attack. I urge Londoners from all of this city’s diverse communities and faiths to support one another and stand together against terrorism.’

 

Alternative methods of transport

Car Sharing

While London’s public transport services are disrupted due to today’s events, many commuters are likely to face major difficulties getting home. Drivers leaving the capital are kindly requested to help those unable to make their way home by offering a lift to their friends and colleagues where possible, or by registering with TfL-recognised car-sharing scheme London Liftshare.

www.londonliftshare.com

 

16.45 hours – Transport for London advice to passengers travelling home

Following the incidents earlier today in the vicinities of the London Underground stations at Aldgate, Russell Square and Edgware Road and on a Route 30 London Bus at Woburn Place, the Metropolitan Police has advised that people should check route details and begin to make their way home.

With services likely to remain disrupted passengers should allow considerable extra time for their homeward journeys and continue checking travel information, as the status of services will continue to change.

TfL customer information line: 020 7222 1234 or visit www.tfl.gov.uk/realtime

The current status of London Underground, London Buses the DLR and Victoria Coach Station are:

London Underground
The network is likely to remain closed for the rest of the day. London Underground staff will be working through the night in an effort to restore services to parts of the network tomorrow.

Buses
From 3pm London Buses resumed services in Zone 1 although service delays are likely to continue. Services around the Kings Cross, Aldgate, and Russell Square areas will be subject to continued suspension or diversion and more details will be released when it becomes clear.

Additional Police Officers and wardens will be stationed at key locations and regular extra security checks will continue to take place on each bus, at all bus stations and garages for the foreseeable future.

DLR
Full services have resumed following a Police sweep of the network. But Bank, Stratford and Canning Town - where the DLR interchanges with the Tube - will be closed.

Victoria Coach station
The station is open and National Express is going to start running a restricted service.

---

16:11 Latest service information

• Docklands Light Railway has resumed but will not be stopping at Bank, Stratford and Canning Town.
• National Rail has resumed service but there is continued disruption.
• Bus services in Zone 1 are returning to service.
• London Underground will be closed for the rest of the day and will resume service tomorrow morning.

---

15:41 Transport for London Update

• National Rail services are now being resumed and major terminals are re-opening
• Bus services are expected to be running by 1600hrs
• Docklands Light Railway services are being resumed
• London Underground will be closed for the rest of the day and will resume service tomorrow morning.

---

14:25 hours – Transport for London Update

Latest information confirms that there were four incidents on London’s transport network this morning, three on London Underground and one on London Buses.

At 09:46, the London Underground was suspended and all stations commenced evacuation following incidents at: Aldgate station heading towards Liverpool Street station on the Hammersmith & City line; Russell Square station heading towards Kings Cross station on the Piccadilly line; and Edgware Road station heading towards Paddington station on the Hammersmith & City line.

Zone 1 bus services were temporarily suspended this morning following an incident on a Route 30 bus at Woburn Place and extra security checks were undertaken on buses remaining in operation and at all garages.

Emergency services responded immediately to all incidents and are dealing with a number of casualties who have been taken to hospitals across London. Unfortunately, whilst we can confirm that there have been fatalities no confirmed figures are currently available.

Additional temporary service suspensions and public information

The Docklands Light Railway has been suspended as a precaution - there have been no incidents on the DLR network.

Drivers are advised not to come into Central London.

---

13:50 National Rail services

Information on changes to National Rail services and London train station closures is available on the National Rail website.

---

12:50 Heathrow Express services are suspended as a precautionary measure.

---

12:35 Docklands Light Railway services are currently suspended. This is precautionary measure

Victoria Coach Station is currently operating a limited service.

---

10.55 hours – Zone 1 buses temporarily suspended

Following an incident on a route 30 bus at Tavistock Place all services in Zone 1 have been suspended for the time being.

Extra safety checks are being undertaken on all buses that remain in service and at all bus garages.

The congestion charge has been suspended and we advise drivers not to come into central London.

---

09:55 hours - London Underground suspended

The network has been suspended until further notice and all stations are being evacuated.

This follows major incidents at Liverpool Street and Edgware Road (Hammersmith & City) stations. Emergency services are on site and are working closely with London Underground.

 

Here are some interesting notes by Transport for London:

TUBE

• This is the worst incident in the history of London underground
• The last serious incident was the Kings Cross fire in 1987 when 27 people died after a machine room under a wooden escalator caught fire. This led to a major overhaul of emergency procedures
• There was a derailment at White City on May 11, 2004 but there were no injuries or fatalities
• There was a derailment at Camden Town 19 October 2003 with 7 injuries and no fatalities
• There was a derailment at Chancery Lane 25 January 2003 with no injuries and no fatalities
• Each AM peak 370,000 use the tube.

Well prepared

• London Underground conducted a live emergency exercise at Tower Hill station two and a half weeks ago on 12 June which fully tested the combined emergency services response to an emergency
• Each year LU holds an emergency exercise to test procedures
• There was a multi national emergency desktop exercise, Atlantic Blue, earlier this year which focused on the response to a potential terrorist attack.

Precautions

• There has recently been a renewed campaign in conjunction with the Met Police to report suspect bags and packages. These posters are highly visible in Tube stations and on buses
• A London resilience team has weekly meetings - London wide resilience plans have been fully tested.

BUSES

• Approximately 325,000 people travel on buses during the morning peak
• CCTV pictures will be used to assist police.
  

 

London will host the 2012 Olympics! Celebrate! I'm speechless...

           

I can't believe it! Ha! The French people are very angry! Yey!

 

 

• London: 54 Votes

• Paris: 50 Votes

 

Two changed voters would have changed the outcome!

 

Also, a deal has been struck, and the official G8 march will now go ahead...

 

Later (16:36): Look at this - We're all rich!

 

'New research shows that, on average, house prices in a city hosting the Olympics rise by 66%.'

City	Host City 5 year % Increase	Host Nation 5 year % Increase
1992 Barcelona	131%	83%
1996 Atlanta	19%	13%
2000 Sydney	50%	39%
2004 Athens*	63%	55%
Average	66%	47%

 

Click here to find out more.

 

As you may have noticed, the topic of the olympics is now 'Major Events', rather than 'News and Politics'. This is because the Olympics in 2012 is now a major event!