Part-closure of Circle line 'will be month of pain'

Hundreds of thousands of Tube commuters were warned today of a month of disruption.

Parts of the Circle and District lines will shut from tomorrow in the biggest-yet block closure, not reopening until Wednesday August 24.

Trains will not run between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road stations, although Circle line trains will operate on the rest of the line in the week. The line will suffer part suspensions at weekends, when the Hammersmith & City will close.

The section between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road is used by 40,000 passengers an hour at peak time. When upgrade work is finished, including new trains on the Circle from next year and the District from 2013, it will carry another 10,000.

David Waboso, London Underground's capital programmes director, said the work would mean "improved reliability and a head start in our preparations for new, higher-capacity trains."

Tube bosses face a big challenge to get the engineering work - including new tracks, sleepers and ballast along with a bridge over a main sewer - completed on time.

Politicians and the passenger watchdog said that while the closure would mean "short term pain", it would bring much improved services.

LU said the alternative to the block closure was six months of weekend and other line suspensions that would cause even worse disruption. Peak holiday time was chosen deliberately as fewer people use the network.

Seven lines will be closed or part-suspended this weekend. The Circle, Hammersmith & City and Waterloo & City will be closed. Suspensions affect the District (Edgware Road to Wimbledon), Jubilee (Stanmore to West Hampstead), Metropolitan (Aldgate to Harrow-on-the Hill) and Piccadilly (Arnos Grove to Cockfosters).