It’s not just delays and signal failures that Londoners are dealing with on their daily Tube journeys. Increasingly, commuters are reporting a disturbing trend: people openly smoking crack cocaine on the Underground.
It might sound like an urban myth, but social media is full of firsthand accounts. On Reddit, one user described an incident on a Thameslink train where a man casually smoked crack in the carriage. “I literally felt sick the entire journey,” they said, adding that the smell alone was overwhelming.
Another Redditor recently shared a longer, even more troubling account titled: “My 2nd experience sitting in a carriage with someone smoking Crack.”
The incident happened during a busy commute. At first, the passenger noticed others quietly moving away from one end of the carriage. Looking up, they saw a “dirty, scruffy-looking man” trying to light a small metal pipe. Assuming he was just drunk, the commuter told him to stop—only to realise the man was high on crack.
“He was as high as a kite,” the user wrote. “Phlegming and spitting on the floor near-constantly… clicking away at his lighter trying to get his crack to smoke.”
Passengers slowly moved to the other end of the carriage, with some getting off entirely. The crack-smoker, left alone, continued until the train reached the next station. The commuter reported the incident to a TfL worker—giving a description, carriage number and direction of travel—but was told something that’s hard to ignore.
The man, apparently, is well known to staff. Complaints about him come in every few days. “They all knew him by his first name,” the user was told. He’s believed to be a long-term homeless crack addict, often seen in and around Brixton Station. British Transport Police and local authorities have been made aware, but little is being done. Resources are stretched, and any intervention is usually temporary. The man gets removed, only to return again a day or two later.
“The only real solution to him was if the guy upped and died one day,” the Redditor said, quoting the mood of the conversation. “But that’s not a nice way to feel about anyone.”
While the incident is extreme, it’s not isolated. Other reports have surfaced across Reddit, Twitter, and community forums. One user commented that they now regularly encounter crack smokers on the Piccadilly Line.
TfL says it takes anti-social and illegal behaviour seriously and encourages passengers to report incidents. But many commuters feel enforcement is lacking. With limited police presence and overstretched social services, some fear the Tube is becoming a place where drug use is increasingly visible—and tolerated by default.
It’s a grim situation that highlights wider issues in London: homelessness, addiction, and a lack of support structures.
Have you experienced crack use on London’s transport system. Leave your comments below.
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