SHOCKING footage shows Londoners piling onto a packed Tube during today’s morning rush hour.
The video taken around 6am at Canning Town, East London, was branded “terrifying” as the capital battles a mutant Covid strain.
After three Jubilee Line Tubes were cancelled commuters were forced to cram onto platforms to board the next service.
The trains were cancelled due to staff shortages, with TfL insisting the footage “was not representative of the rest of the Tube network”.
Despite the government urging people to work from home many Brits – including key workers – have to travel in for their jobs.
Similar scenes were reported during last year’s first lockdown when employees had to squeeze onto busy trains.
‘TERRIFYING’
It come as the number of Londoners who have died with Covid rose to more than 10,000, with more than 84,000 deaths nationwide.
Yesterday saw Britain’s worst daily recorded death toll during the pandemic, with 1,564 more reported deaths and another 47,525 infections bringing overall cases to 3,164,051.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan last week declared a major incident in the capital as the virus runs rampant.
The number of patients with Covid-19 in London hospitals rocketed from 1,000 in November to 4,000 on Christmas Day, before doubling to just under 8,000 currently.
There are fears the capital’s hospitals may be days away from being overwhelmed.
Footage of this morning’s scenes in Canning Town was shared with the BBC and posted on Twitter.
One person wrote: “Terrifying, but absolutely not their fault. It’s their employers forcing them to still work.
“The majority are construction workers with heavy tools, working all over London doing hard physical work, so unrealistic to expect them to walk/cycle.”
Another tweeted: “In order to keep society running we need some people to not WFH.
“There’s not a set of magical elves that deliver things, that work in distribution centres, that cook food, that make sure the internet works.”
And a third said: “Almost a year into this and we’re still seeing the middle class shaming the working class for going into work instead of thinking about why they’re still having to do it.”
Sixty London Transport worker have died with coronavirus, including 46 bus drivers.
Masks are compulsory on public transport in the capital with rule flouters facing a £200 fine.
Almost 1,600 Fixed Penalty Notices have been handed to people caught without a mask.
Another 9,200 people were prevented from boarding for not wearing masks and around 2,000 removed from trains, Tubes and buses for non-compliance.
Research from last November suggested one in four Brits weren’t wearing masks on public transport.
Passenger numbers in London are higher than during the first national lockdown, with one rail worker saying colleagues working at London Underground stations currently are “unsafe”.
And the worker added the number of commuters is “worse now than it was the first time around”.
The worker said: “If you’re on the Underground system… people are touching the seats, the handrails.
“The majority of people who are travelling are wearing masks, over their nose and mouth, but a train is not a big place on the Tube!
“There’s too many people who shouldn’t be travelling, (who) are still travelling.”
So far, London has vaccinated fewer people than any region in the UK, with Mayor Sadiq Khan demanding action.
Nick Dent, London Underground’s Director of Line Operations, said: “Three Jubilee trains serving Canning Town were unfortunately cancelled at short notice this morning due to staff absence, causing higher numbers of people to be waiting on platforms for a short amount of time.
“This morning’s video is not representative of the rest of the Tube network nor of this station for the rest of the day.
“We are doing everything we can to help ensure those who need to travel for legally permitted reasons are able to do so in a safe way and maintain social distancing.”
Passengers are urged to travel between 8.15am and 4pm on weekdays and after 5.30pm when stations are quieter.
