Tube strike: Times, dates, affected lines and reasons – all you need to know
'If it goes ahead, there will be no service on most of the Tube network all day'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tube drivers plan to walk out for 24 hours on 5 October, probably forcing the London Underground network to close and leaving commuters to find other ways to get to work.
Drivers from the Aslef union, who work across all lines on the network, are due to strike from 12.01am on Thursday in a row over working practices.
Some Tube services may finish earlier from 11.30pm on Wednesday and begin later than usual on Friday, Transport for London (TfL) said.
The planned walkout threatened “large-scale disruption” across the whole Underground, it said.
It warned passengers: “If it goes ahead, there will be no service on most of the Tube network all day Thursday.”
The authority said: “TfL Rail, London Overground, DLR, Rivers and Emirates Air Line will all be running normally, but will be busier than usual.
“We are putting more buses and Santander Cycle hubs on key routes to help Londoners get around during the strike.
“Bus services will be exceptionally busy on the day of the strike, so please complete your journey on foot if at all possible. Customers less able to walk are advised to use buses and to allow more time for journeys.”
Crisis talks mediated by the conciliation service Acas failed to produce an agreement on Monday but were due to resume on Tuesday.
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s organiser on London Underground (LU), said when the strike was announced: “As part of the settlement of the dispute over the introduction of night Tube, LU agreed to introduce a mechanism to allow drivers to reduce the number of shifts they work, on a pro-rata basis, and ‘new ways of working’ to reduce the percentage of weekend shifts worked by July this year. They have repeatedly refused to make any detailed proposals to do so.”
Nigel Holness, of TfL, said: “We are committed to ensuring that our employees are able to maintain a good balance between their work and personal lives, and we have been working closely with the unions to explore new ways to achieve this.”
A trial of new working patterns had finished only recently, he said, and the outcomes were yet to be analysed.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments