Working overnight to get London ready for the Olympics

Reuters reports:  A light breeze moves through the cavernous tunnels of London's underground train network, a rarity for the workers whose heads are bent down while methodically sifting rocks and dust armed with just a brush and metal pick.

 Among them is Michael Emordi, one of 10,000 night workers employed by London Underground to help ensure its subterranean railways are in top condition for the capital's four million commuters and prepare an already creaking system for the influx of half a million visitors for this summer's Olympic Games.

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 Emordi works as a "fluffer" manually removing hair, fibers and dust shed by passengers every day in the underground railway system, which if left to build has the potential to bring down the whole system.

 It's a tough job but one of the many important roles that night workers perform in the dirt-caked tunnels beneath London's bustling surface to ensure the smooth running of the world's oldest underground transport system, which most Londoners simply refer to as "the tube". Full story.

 More photos of the work being done to spruce up London's tube on PhotoBlog.

More photos of London's olympic venues and the city in our slideshow.

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