Boris: Jubilee Line Failure 'A Disaster' - Exclusive

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Boris Johnson has told LBC that Tuesday night's problems on the Jubilee Line were a disaster.

Thousands of Londoners were trapped underground on the Jubilee line after a power failure, while signalling problems caused suspensions on Wednesday morning.

In the LBC 97.3 studio for a 30minute session answering listeners questions, he said: "What happened last night was a disaster. A bit of kit fell off the train between Canning Town and Stratford and it shorted the whole system.

"People were very badly affected by being kept in the trains last night and let me apologise to all those who suffered."

Mr Johnson believes these issues shows how important CrossRail will be to London, stating: "CrossRail takes so much of the strain off the Jubilee and Central Lines. If you have that high-speed line under the City, it takes a massive about of the traffic East-West in London."

With the Jubilee Line crucial to the smooth running of London's transport during the Olympics, Mr Johnson was confident it would be running well in 2012.

"I'm completely confident it will be functioning properly and that the benefits of the investment that we are making will be felt by passengers in London," he added.

But speaking to LBC, General Secretary of the RMT Union Bob Crowe isn't convinced.

He told us: "This is a brand new, state-of-the-art track on the Jubilee Line and there's new rolling stock on there. We shouldn't have to put up with this.

"Just imagine what would happen if you got this during the Olympics, with the extra 5million people who would be using the underground. There would be pandemonium down there."

You can listen to Boris Johnson's full interview with Nick Ferrari below: