London Underground has apologised to commuters following disruption on the Central line this week.

Commuters were left frustrated this week by severe delays on the line on Monday and Wednesday.

Speaking on Wednesday, Phil Hufton, London Undergrounds's chief operating officer, said: “Obviously I am very sorry for anyone delayed this morning.”

Disgruntled customers were told that planned engineering works had overrun on Wednesday, causing the delays.

But Mr Huffton said: “On the Central line there was a broken down engineering train at the east end of the line which caused a late start of service.”

Many commuters on social media complained that the delays had not been communicated straight away.

Sandeep Dhillon of London Underground said: “As soon as the control centre is aware of a delay we publish it on social media to make commuters aware so that they can make alternative arrangements.

“We encourage people to check before they travel but we do our best to make people aware of any delays whilst they are en route.”

He assured customers there are no building or construction works planned on the Central line at present and that maintenance works are carried out outside of operating hours, between 12am and 4am.

Customers who experienced delays of longer than 15 minutes may be eligible for a refund.