A London Underground route has been hit by delays this morning after armed officers swarmed a train at Stratford station.
The rush hour commute was disrupted on the Central line after an incident involving the police.
Armed officers searched a carriage on the busy Tube route, and people were evacuated after reports of a man carrying a firearm.
A passenger claimed on social media: My central line train at TfL has just been evacuated with all these armed police looking for someone with a weapon…. Great.’
Others said they saw armed police patrolling along the platforms at Stratford station in east London.
A British Transport Police spokesperson told Metro: ‘We received a report of a man with a firearm on board a Central Line train at 7.44am today (12 August).
‘The train was met by armed officers at Stratford station where it was evacuated and searched. No firearms were found, nor anyone matching the description. Enquiries into the report are ongoing.’
TfL’s latest travel status update says that the Central line has minor delays due to a police investigation.
The travel alert says: ‘Minor delays westbound entire line and minor delays North Acton to Ealing Broadway / West Ruislip and Leytonstone to Epping / Hainault while police carry out an investigation.’
Transport for London declined to comment further as it was a police incident.
The incident came as the capital braces for soaring temperatures and sweaty journeys as the fifth heatwave of the season gets underway.
Temperatures in London could hit as high as 38°C tomorrow.
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National Rail has warned of possible disruption to services, and several train operators are running an amended schedule, including Great Western Railway, c2, Northern, CrossCountry and Chiltern Railway.
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