It was "looking more likely" that Saturday's tube crash was caused by an electric motor slipping loose from the underside of a carriage, a London Underground spokeswoman said today.

Part of the LU's internal investigation into the derailment near Chancery Lane station would focus on the "rumour" that tube bosses had been aware for months that bolts securing the motors had a tendency to loosen, the LU spokeswoman said.

This morning the Central Line's half a million passengers are having to find alternative ways of getting to work as the line remains closed until at least Tuesday.

The Central Line and Waterloo and City lines will reopen at the earliest on Tuesday, with one section of the line expected to be closed for several weeks, a London Underground spokeswoman said.

Saturday's derailment threw the train against the tunnel wall shattering windows and injuring 32 passengers.

Of the 800 passengers on the train the worst injury sustained was a broken leg, the spokeswoman said.

LU in tandem with the Rail Inspectorate and British Transport police have launched an investigation into the weekend tube crash.

On Saturday, the LU commenced safety checks on its 85-strong train fleet used on the Central Line.

The disruption is likely to go for several weeks because of the damage to the tunnels between Liverpool Street and Holborn Stations, LU said in a statement.

A shuttle service will run from Epping to Chingford, with some buses running to Straford while repairs are carried out.

January 27, 2003 09:30