ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Hundreds of London underground trains are delayed every year because staff have to spend time cleaning soiled carriages, Transport for London has revealed.

Last year more than 800 trains were delayed because they had become unacceptably dirty, according to TFL. More than a quarter of them - 221 - were on the Northern Line while the Jubilee Line was second dirtiest with 113 incidents and the Central Line was third with 101.

General secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union Mick Cash blamed the issue on inebriated passengers and on the Night Tube, a 24-hour service introduced in August 2016.

"These shocking statistics show just what a dirty and disgusting job our cleaner members have to do, mopping up the mess left behind by drunks on the Underground," he said.

"There is no question that the introduction of the Night Tube has seen an increase in this sort of behaviour, which has appalling consequences for staff and passengers alike."

A cleaner on the District and Circle lines confirms that he and his colleagues often have to face very difficult working conditions.

"Sometimes it is very disgusting, especially on weekends and nights," he said. "Some passengers just don't care about the cleaners."

A spokeswoman for TFL said: "We aim to deal with any incidents of this nature on our network as soon as possible once they are reported, with specialist staff available to undertake cleaning as required. We ask all customers to consider their fellow passengers and to help us to keep the network running safely and smoothly."