London Tube strikes bring TfL network to a standstill

Stoppage over pensions and cuts coincides with first day of fares rise, with ticket prices up almost 5 per cent

Lambeth North station, one of hundreds of Tube stations closed by the strike (Simon Calder)

All trains on the London Underground have been suspended as members of the RMT union stop work in a dispute over pensions and staff cuts.

Prospective Tube travellers have been urged to work from home and warned that buses and the roads in the capital will be busier than normal.

Transport for London (TfL) is telling passengers enquiring on social media: “Tube services are suspended due to strike action.”

The organisation also predicts “severe disruption across all Tube lines” on Wednesday morning as the effects of strike continue.

Another stoppage will take place on Thursday, with further disruption on Friday.

London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, says revenue has slumped because of the coronavirus pandemic, and that cost-cutting is essential.

In addition, delays with the botched Crossrail project – now over three years behind schedule – has cost hundreds of millions in expected income.

Since the Covid crisis hit transport in the capital, Transport for London has been kept afloat by a series of cash injections from central government. Further funding is conditional on costs being tackled.

The union says staff cuts “will damage passenger safety and confidence” and that the pension scheme is fully funded and can continue without changes.

The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: “Sadiq Khan knows that this raid on our members’ pensions and conditions is unfair and would lead to industrial action.” He called on the mayor to “stop the pensions raid and end the job massacre”.

The closure of the Tube network will hit revenue for train operators to and from London, and damage retail and entertainment businesses in the capital. It will also cause problems for tourists, who were beginning to return to the capital after a near-total collapse of incoming tourism in 2021.

Alternatives include the network of Santander Cycles, which cost £2 for unlimited journeys up to 30 minutes within 24 hours. TfL says: “You are never more than 600m from a Santander Cycle hire point in central London.”

Today’s strike coincides with public transport fares in London increasing by 4.8 per cent, the highest annual rise for many years. A journey within zone one of the London Underground now costs £2.50, with bus and tram fares rising by 10p to £1.65.

On the Emirates Air Line cable car in east London, the adult pay-as-you-go fare rises by 17 per cent, from £5 to £6.