Commuting on the London Underground has always required a certain level of resignation...

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This week, the Northern line has taken that resignation, stamped on it, and told everyone to be grateful it is still called a service at all (and it's really not).

“Minor delays” is now so detached from reality it might as well be performance art. There is nothing minor about a system that grinds to a halt the moment something goes slightly wrong.

One signal fault at Camden, one late train at Mordon, one tiny issue, and suddenly half of south London is trapped on platforms watching packed trains roll through like they are actively avoiding eye contact.

This is not bad luck. It is a network running so close to breaking point that it only takes the smallest nudge to send it spiralling. And yet the messaging never changes.

Still “minor”. Still “good service on the rest of the line”. Still treating commuters like they will just nod along while their journey quietly disintegrates.

And if you dare ask what’s actually going on, you’re often met with a level of indifference that borders on hostility, as if requesting a........

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