TfL London trams: Delays along network due to damage caused to pantographs

South London's tram network is suffering delays after a number of vehicles were identified as having damaged pantographs.

Transport for London (TfL) is reporting that the delays are impacting services running between Wimbledon and Elmers End, and New Addington and Sandilands, constituting the majority of the network.

TfL’s website says the delays are due to a “shortage of Trams”, which when queried by LondonWorld, is the result of damage caused to devices called pantographs.

Pantographs are mounted on the roof of an electric train, tram or electric bus, providing power through contact with an overhead line.

Mark Davis, TfL's general manager for London Trams, said: “I am sorry for the delays customers experienced on the London Trams network this morning due to a shortage of available trams. 

“We have identified a number of trams with pantographs that needed repairing. Our engineers are working as quickly as possible to fix the trams and resume a normal service.”

London’s trams, once ubiquitous in the capital, are today only found in the south of the city, running from Wimbledon in the west, and as far as Beckenham in the east.