Signal failures caused severe delays on a key London Underground line connecting the city centre with the Olympic Park, transport chiefs said today, the first day of athletics at the Games.

The Central line was partly suspended in east London — home to the Olympic Stadium — for more than an hour at the height of the morning rush hour, on what is expected to be the busiest day so far.

Severe delays continued across the whole the line, which runs east to west across London and is one of the busiest on the network.

Some 200,000 spectators and workers were expected at the Olympic Park on the first day of track and field events.

Transport for London (TfL), the authority that runs the Underground, said the problems were caused by a failure in its signalling system.

“The suspension has been lifted,” a TfL spokesman said.

All other lines were running a good service and we were able to get spectators to the Olympic Park in time for the start of today’s events.

“We also provided extra buses to the Olympic Park.”

The high-speed Javelin train connecting the venue with central London was packed with spectators trying to get around the Central line delays.

TfL had warned that the public transport system would be exceptionally busy in east London on Friday, urging visitors to explore the rest of the Capital.

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