London's Underground grapples with a costly battle against graffiti, spending up to £11 million annually, according to Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Andy Lord. The issue has seen a surge in tagged Tube carriages, especially on the Bakerloo and Central lines. In response, TfL staff tirelessly remove an average of one tag every three minutes, as revealed by a Freedom of Information request. Lord attributes this to a combination of proactive investigation, prevention, and cleaning efforts, collaborating closely with the British Transport Police and investigation teams to identify and thwart hotspot locations for graffiti artists. The problem has intensified, with cleaners removing over 3,000 tags weekly from Tube trains, as reported by the BBC. Lord emphasizes the importance of professional cleaning, warning against public attempts to clean trains, which can be risky and cause damage. He notes that the majority of cleaning occurs during non-service hours, but some trains are cleaned while in operation.
