Southfields Station has once again buckled under pressure, with repeated District Line failures causing chaos for local residents, commuters, and international visitors during Wimbledon – one of the busiest weeks of the year.
Transport for London (TfL) is under growing fire after a wave of breakdowns and delays crippled the District Line across several days this week, just as crowds poured into SW19 for the Wimbledon Championships.
The problems, ranging from a track fault at Tower Hill to ongoing “signal failures” at Southfields itself, left passengers packed on platforms, stranded on trains, and furious at what many see as TfL’s chronic inability to manage one of its key lines during a world-class event.
Even more galling for local residents is that this isn’t new.
‘It never used to be like this’
Southfields has already closed multiple times this year due to signal problems, and regular users are asking why the system seems incapable of withstanding predictable peak demand. The failures have also caused delays at Putney’s other Tube station – East Putney – one stop down the line.
Tony McConnell, a Southfields resident and coffee stand owner, told Local Democracy Reporting Service this week that he fears what will happen if the tournament gets even bigger, under expansion plans. “During Wimbledon, it just can’t cope. And if the AELTC expansion goes ahead, it will only get worse.”
McConnell described 5:30am traffic jams and crowds that overwhelm the modest station’s infrastructure. “It’s like putting a sticking plaster on a leak,” he said.
Meanwhile, pavements around the station were clogged by dozens of Lime bikes, forcing pedestrians to squeeze past each other and raising fresh questions about crowd and pavement management.

MP Demands Accountability
Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler has now stepped in, calling the current situation “completely unacceptable.” In a public letter to TfL, Kohler criticised their lack of planning, failure to upgrade key parts of the network, and refusal to put forward representatives to explain the issues.
“Residents, commuters, and tennis fans are being let down by a system that is not only unreliable but seemingly unwilling to communicate what is going wrong,” he wrote. “We need transparency from TfL and immediate action to ensure the rest of the Championships do not descend into further travel misery.”
Kohler noted that Wimbledon Station was “very crowded” on Tuesday (1 July) and raised concerns about insufficient planning for one of London’s biggest annual events.
He also demanded that TfL outline what extra resources have been deployed to maintain smooth service and how they plan to avoid another collapse before the finals weekend.
A Long-Standing Problem
Transport chaos during Wimbledon has become a grim tradition, with the District Line’s aging infrastructure frequently cited as the culprit. But critics say it’s no longer good enough to point to the system’s age.
Even TfL’s own data from 2010 acknowledged that Southfields sees more than triple its usual passenger numbers during Wimbledon fortnight.
While some visitors praised station marshals for handling crowds well, many others were left with long delays, missed matches, and a sense of déjà vu.
Growth Plans in the Firing Line
The disruptions have also intensified local opposition to the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s planned expansion, which would add 39 new courts and a new 8,000-seat stadium on the nearby Wimbledon Park site. Critics argue the area’s transport network is already buckling — and could collapse entirely under increased footfall.
“Southfields is struggling to cope as it is,” said McConnell. “This tournament is big enough — the area can’t take much more.”
Time for Answers
TfL has so far offered little public explanation for this week’s failures — a silence that has only fuelled frustration.
Local campaigners and residents are now demanding a full account of the root causes behind the repeated signal failures at Southfields and across the District Line, along with clear commitments to future-proof the network.
As the Championships continue, pressure is mounting not just on Southfields station — but on those responsible for keeping London moving.
The responsibility for transport arrangements lies squarely with the AELTC. Why should the burden of costs for an event run by a private members tennis club be borne by tax payers through TFL? The district line obviously requires upgrading to cater for Southfields residents. This is a separate issue from the misuse of the whole of the Southfields residential area by a private members tennis club.