Network Rail's Chief Executive Iain Coucher has wrote to Transport for London's (TfL) Commissioner Peter Hendy to seek urgent answers about the severe disruption caused to tens of thousands of passengers as a result of the failure of TfL infrastructure outside Liverpool Street station on Wednesday evening.

At about 7.15pm a concrete slab fell from a TfL bridge that had been erected over the May Day bank holiday as part of TfL's ongoing project to extend the East London line. Services were stopped as a result of the incident and it wasn't until 9.30am TfL gave the 'all clear' and services were allowed to re-start.

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Because of concerns over TfL's handling and management of both the project and its contractors, Network Rail has banned work on the bridge, effective immediately. This will remain in place until TfL has completed an investigation and reported back on the causes of the incident and what measures it will be putting in place to prevent a repetition.

Commenting on the incident, Network Rail's Director of Operations and Customer Service, Robin Gisby, said: "Passengers rightly want an explanation, as do I. Passengers deserve an apology for the disruption they suffered last night and this morning and I want assurances that such an incident can't and won't happen again."

(CD/JM)