Major disruption is expected on the London Underground next week amid a Tube strike by thousands of workers from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union
Disruption is expected for Londoners at the start of next week as last minute pleas to avert strike action failed.
Thousands of workers from the Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), including drivers, signallers and maintenance workers, are to launch a series of strikes over pay and conditions which will cause huge disruption to services.
Transport for London (TfL) has offered a 3.4 percent pay rise which it described as “fair” and said it cannot afford to meet the RMT’s demand for a cut in the working week. But an RMT spokesperson said a shorter working week is “fair and affordable when you consider TfL has a surplus of £166 million last year and a £10 billion annual operating budget”.
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On Friday, Nick Dent, London Underground’s (LU) director of customer operations, said it was not too late to call off the strikes. Passengers have been urged to check before they travel, with Tubes that do run, as well as buses, which are expected to be busier than usual.
So when is strike action expected?
Sunday, September 7
Disruption is expected across the whole Tube network on Sunday. Only limited services will run those that do will finish early.
TfL has said people should try and finish their journeys by 6pm. The DLR will run as normal.
Monday, September 8
There will be no service on the Tube network before 8am or after 6pm on Monday. There will be little to no service on the whole network.
The DLR will run with a full service, but stations that are also on the Tube network, such as Bank, could see some disruption.
Tuesday, September 9
There will be little to no service running across the whole of the Tube network on Tuesday and no service at all before 8am or after 6pm. There is also no service on the entire DLR.
Wednesday, September 10
There will be little to no service running across the whole of the Tube network on Wednesday and no service at all before 8am or after 6pm. The DLR has full service but again there are warnings of potential disruption in stations that are also on the Tube network.
Thursday, September 11
There will be little to no service running across the whole of the Tube network on Wednesday and no service at all before 8am or after 6pm. There is no service on the DLR all day on Thursday.
Friday, September 12
Service will gradually return to normal by late morning on Friday, but there no service before 8am.
The rest of the network
The London Overground, Elizabeth line and trams will all run services on strike days. But passengers have been warned that services are expected to be very busy.
Trains may not be able to stop at every station or run to their normal destinations. Trains will not stop between Whitechapel and Bond Street on the Elizabeth line on Monday and Wednesday before 7:30am and 10:30pm. Those stations are Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road. Trains will not stop between the same stations before 8am on Tuesday and Thursday.
The Tube strikes will mean some stations served by Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink will be shut and train times altered.
The affected stations are:
- Farringdon (Thameslink)
- Moorgate (Great Northern)
- Old Street (Great Northern)
- Essex Road (Great Northern)
- Highbury and Islington (Great Northern)
- Drayton Park (Great Northern)
- Wembley Central (Southern)
- Harrow and Wealdstone (Southern)
London Underground station staff will not be available to open some of these stations at certain times on some days, meaning passengers will not be able to enter or exit and trains will not call there. Jenny Saunders, Thameslink and Great Northern’s customer service director said: “Next week, we’re expecting our trains to be much busier than normal owing to Tube strikes in London.
“It’ll mean services may not call at their usual stations or could be diverted to run elsewhere. My advice to anybody planning to travel in, into, or through London next week is to plan ahead of time, and check again before travelling, as information might change at short notice.”
Passengers warned
TfL has urged people to plan ahead on strike days. They can use TfL’s journey planner, or apps including City Mapper.
“Cycling or walking is also recommended by TfL, with Santander, Lime and Forest bikes available to hire across the capital, as well as electric scooters in some London boroughs,” TfL said.
The strikes
Union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were “simply unaffordable” and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds, said Mr Dent from LU.
“We have met four times in the past two weeks and we would welcome further talks,” he said. “It is not too late to call off the strikes and put our offer to the RMT members.”
The last Tube-wide strike was three years ago, over pay and pensions, but Mr Dent said next week’s action will be different because separate groups of workers will walk out on different days. “It will be very damaging for us,” he added.
An RMT spokesperson added: “There are 2,000 fewer staff working on London Underground since 2018 and our members are feeling the strain of extreme shift patterns, giving rise to potential health problems due to fatigue. London Underground is doing well financially and all our members want is fair consideration.”
Claire Mann, Transport for London’s chief operating officer, said: “Our pay deal is in line with other offers accepted by the RMT across the rail industry, so it is disappointing the RMT is planning to disrupt Londoners without giving their members a say on the offer. We remain open for discussions about any part of our offer, and we are committed to making sure our colleagues are treated fairly.
“We welcome further engagement from all of our unions about managing fatigue across the network but a reduction in the contractual 35-hour working week is neither practical nor affordable. If this strike action goes ahead, customers should check before they travel, as on some days during the strike there will be little to no service.”
