London Tube strike – latest: Victoria and Jubilee among lines disrupted during Friday rush hour
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Your support makes all the difference.Five Tube lines will be severely affected this morning by strike action taken by London Underground (LU) workers.
Transport for London (TfL) said the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines will be severely disrupted for 24 hours from 4.30am on Friday.
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) members are also planning to strike on six other nights: this Saturday (27 November), and on Friday 3 December, Saturday 4, Friday 10, Saturday 11, and Friday 17.
As the strikes cross into Friday evening rush hour, only 58 per cent of the regularly scheduled service is running, Andy Lord, managing director of London Underground confirmed.
The Mayor of London said the strike action came at the “worst possible time” as shoppers attempted to attend Black Friday sales and Londoners anticipated the return of the Night Tube. Sadiq Khan urged RMT to return to negotiations after accusing the union of refusing to meet TfL for crunch talks yesterday.
The RMT has said that LU has abolished 200 Tube driver positions and has imposed “unacceptable and intolerable” new rotas on existing drivers to cover Night Tube services. The union says this would “wreck the work-life balance” of members.
Good morning and welcome to our live blog, where we will post updates throughout the day on the London Underground strike.
Why are Tube drivers striking? Here’s a quick recap
London Underground (LU) workers are now on strike from now, and services on the Tube will be severely affected on five major lines.
The industrial dispute is over new Tube drivers’ rotas that transport union RMT has slammed as “intolerable”.
LU is requiring drivers to work more shifts to cover weekends and nights after the restarting of the Night Tube.
The RMT has said LU has axed 200 driver positions and scrapped its previous agreement with drivers that had made the Night Tube “a success” – before the night-time services were suspended as a result of the Covid pandemic.
LU had said it was “disappointed” that RMT members were going to go on strike, and added it was open to further talks.
RMT said that Tube management claimed the union was refusing to engage in further discussions, which RMT regional organiser John Leach said on Thursday was “not true”.
More details about the strike here from Joe Sommerlad
Is the London Tube strike going ahead tomorrow and which lines will be affected?
London tube strike: Victoria, Central, Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee line to face disruption tomorrow
Lines unaffected by strike likely to be ‘much busier’ than usual
Transport for London (TfL) is warning that lines unaffected by the strike are likely to be “much busier” than usual.
Five out of 11 lines – Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria – will be severely disrupted by the strike that will take place on a number of days before Christmas.
TfL added: “Thameslink services and buses through central London are also expected to be busier than normal.”
More here from our travel correspondent Simon Calder
Tube strike to cause travel chaos in London
After Friday’s 24-hour strike, four weekends of evening disruption are expected on the Central and Victoria lines
Transport for London has urged commuters to check before they travel.
Further information on alternative transport can be found on its website.
TFL warns buses and roads to be busier than normal
Transport for London has warned of busier than usual buses and local roads in central London as RMT union members are starting the first of its 24-hour walkouts on Friday morning.
TFL urged commuters to plan more time for journeys as delays are expected and consider walking or cycling.
“If the strikes go ahead, we will operate as many services as possible, but this will depend on staffing levels on the day,” it added.
London Underground says serious consequences in the run-up to Christmas
Nick Dent, director of London Underground customer operations, said the strike by RMT was “avoidable” and it might have serious consequences as it comes ahead of Christmas.
Dent said the strike “will threaten London’s recovery from the pandemic, despite no job losses and more flexibility and job certainty for drivers”.
“While every other union has agreed to these changes and our staff have been enjoying the benefits of the changes since August, we’re willing to work with the RMT and review the changes after Night Tube services have returned,” he added.
He said a review is only possible if RMT agrees to meet officials for talks and withdraw from proposed strikes.
“If the RMT refuses to engage with us and carries out its unnecessary action, which is timed to cause maximum disruption for our customers looking to enjoy London during the festive season, Londoners are advised to check before they travel on days of planned strike action.”
Tube status latest as strike begins
Operations on the Central and Piccadilly lines of the London Underground were suspended on Friday morning as a 24-hour planned strike begins, threatening disruptions to London in the run up to Christmas.
TFL said there will be “no service due to strike action by the RMT” on the Central line while valid tickets will be accepted on buses and Network Rail services.
Shortly after, services were also suspended on Piccadilly line.
The status of tube services on Victoria, Northern, Waterloo & City and Jubilee remained “special services” which means operations at a reduced frequency.
Services on other lines remain unaffected.
Waterloo & City line suspended
Operations on the Waterloo and City line are now also suspended as a result of the RMT strikes.
Services remain suspended on the Central and Piccadilly lines.
Services on Central line partially resumed
Shuttle services have been resumed on the Central line between White City and Ealing Broadway. The rest of the stations remain out of service.
The London Overground line is also functioning on “reduced service” while Jubilee line’s status was updated to special services from suspended.
Commuters complain of long and stressful journeys amid Tube strike
Several Londoners expressed fears over commuting on Friday morning as a Tube strike threatened to bring the city to a grinding halt, with services disrupted in many parts.
A Twitter user named Lauren said she is “very anxious” about the strike. “It takes me 1.5 hours to get to work if everything goes to plan, so it’s going to be at least 2 hours. Really wishing I didn’t make promises to patients before I knew about it. I don’t know how I only just found out!”
Another Twitter user with handle @insidequeer said she will finish her sixth night shift in a row on Friday morning and the Tube strike is going to make her commute “long and stressful”.
“Do I have sympathy with them? Yes I do. Can I support such drastic Tube strike? No I can’t. Those of us out have to use the Tube, we would work from home if we could,” she said.
The strike also offers particular inconvenience for disabled people, who might have to wait in long queues to access the network.
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