London Tube Strike LIVE – Victoria, Central, Northern, Jubilee & Piccadilly lines down TODAY sparking travel chaos

What is the reason behind the strike? (Continued…)

But TfL say that the changes have been agreed by other unions and would bean that drivers have to work four night shifts per year.

It also means that the restart of the Night Tube on the Victoria and Central line would be delayed as drivers have been ordered to not work between 8.30pm on Saturday until 4.30am on Sunday.

TfL hope that the Night Tube will still be able to run but have admitted there are likely to be fewer trains than they hoped.

‘Night Tube important after Sarah Everard murder’

People have taken to Twitter to express the importance of the Night Tube returning to London.

One wrote: “The return of the night tube is important – especially in light of the murder of Sarah Everard – but unethical cost-cutting and such a lack of respect or concern for a workforce is not the way forward.”

Another person said: “A tube strike on the weekend they were supposed to be reopening the night tube to help people get home safer? Good one”.

Increased risk of close contact & spread of Covid

A GP raised concerns over Tube strike actions taking place while a mega mutated Covid variant is emerging.

Jamie Wallis told The Standard: “The strike will force lots of people from the Tube onto buses increasing the risk of close contact and the spread of Covid.

“As a GP, my first thought is always how this will affect my patients travelling to hospitals for appointments and treatment.

“Sitting on a packed bus where no one is wearing a mask isn’t where you want to be if you are having chemotherapy or are otherwise immunologically vulnerable.”

Tube strike ‘an unnecessary attack on Londoners’

Conservative London Assembly member Emma Best has slammed the decision of the RMT Union to go on strike.

She’s tweeted: “The RMT tube strike today is an unnecessary attack on London’s commuters & visitors.

“Other unions have already agreed the changes which ask drivers to work just FOUR night shifts a year.

“For a global, 24/7 city, that is a wholly reasonable request.”

Tough weeks ahead for TfL

Transport for London (TfL) faces a challenging couple of weeks in the lead up to Christmas.

Today is the first of seven separate planned dates of strike action.

Furthermore, TfL also faces concerns over its finances.

Since May 2020, TfL has had three government bailouts – of over £4bn. There have been repeated rows over funding for TfL and the cause of its financial crisis.

Discussions between TfL and the Department for Transport are continuing.

Central line now back up and running to Liverpool Street

The Central line is now operating a shuttle service from Liverpool Street to Hainault and Epping.

Further Central line trains are running between White City and Ealing Broadway, Woodford and Hainault, and West Ruislip and North Acton.

However, there is no service on the rest of the line due to the strike.

Hammersmith & City line reports severe delays

Londoners are facing severe delays on the Hammersmith and City line.

This is due to train cancellations on Black Friday.

Transport for London confirmed the update amid an RMT strike on the London Underground, which is also affecting five other lines.

Possible strikes to come

Below are the list of dates that drivers are expected to strike unless an agreement is reached between the RMT and TfL:

• 4:30am 26 November – 04:29am 27 November (Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria)
• 8:30pm 27 November – 04:29am 28 November (Central & Victoria)
• 8:30pm 3 December – 04:29am 4 December (Central & Victoria) 8:3
• 0pm 4 December – 04:29am 5 December (Central & Victoria)
• 8:30pm 10 December – 04:29am 11 December (Central & Victoria)
• 8:30pm 11 December – 04:29am 12 December (Central & Victoria)
• 8:30pm 17 December – 04:29am 18 December (Central & Victoria)
• 04:30am 18 December – 04:29am 19 December (Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly & Victoria)

Latest service

Here’s the service on all the lines:

• Central: Suspended between White City and Liverpool Street
• Waterloo & City: Suspended
• Victoria: Special service
• Jubilee: Special service
• Northern: Special service
• Piccadilly: Suspended between Arnos Grove and Heathrow/Uxbridge
• Bakerloo: Good
• District: Good
• Metropolitan: Good
• Circle: Minor delays due to train cancellations
• Hammersmith & City: Good

Sadiq Khan brands industrial action ‘unnecessary’

Sadiq Khan has spoken out against Friday’s industrial action, branding it “unnecessary”.

He told the BBC: “It is causing widespread disruption for millions of Londoners and will also hit London’s retail, culture and hospitality at the worst possible time.

“It’s extremely disappointing that the RMT refused to attend talks yesterday with TfL to try to come to a resolution. I urge them to come back to the table.

“The Night Tube has an important part to play in our capital’s recovery and helps to improve safety for everyone, especially women and girls making their way home at night.”

Pictured: Travel chaos

Commuters travelling towards central London today and tomorrow are in for a hectic commute.

The ongoing dispute is over the night shifts that drivers will be required to work to enable the restart of the Night Tube.

This means that passengers will experience delayed or no service on the trains, and more people using busses, taxis and bikes.

Make sure to plan your route before you travel.

Petition to restart night tube

The industrial action threatens to wreak havoc upon the long-awaited return of the Night Tube that thousands of Brits were desperate for.

A petition to restart the service gained 150,000 signatures, amid fears for women’s safety when returning home in the dark in the wake of the Sarah Everard case.

The nighttime service had been due to resume on November 27, but was only running on the two busiest lines, Victoria and Central.

It seems the union have chosen their time to strike wisely, as it will cause chaos for bosses at Transport for London.

Tube strike threatens concert plans

Concertgoers waiting to see Steps perform at the O2 Arena tonight will have to navigate London’s travel nightmare.

The stadium is served by a single London Underground station on the Jubilee line which is currently running a reduced service due to RMT strike action.

Passengers can expect busier trains than usual before alighting at North Greenwich for the O2.

Are there any other future Tube strikes I need to worry about?

Further action has been planned each weekend in the run-up to Christmas on the Central and Victoria lines.

There will also be another five-line 24-hour shutdown on the final Saturday before Christmas.

TfL have called for RMT to call off the strike and enter talks about the staffing requirements of the Night Tube.

Why is there a strike? (Continued…)

But TfL say that the changes have been agreed by other unions and would bean that drivers have to work four night shifts per year.

It also means that the restart of the Night Tube on the Victoria and Central line would be delayed as drivers have been ordered to not work between 8.30pm on Saturday until 4.30am on Sunday.

TfL hope that the Night Tube will still be able to run but have admitted there are likely to be fewer trains than they hoped.

Why is there a strike?

The ongoing dispute is over the night shifts that drivers will be required to work to enable the restart of the Night Tube.

Since the start of the pandemic it has been suspended, but was due to resume overnight on Saturday for the first time.

The Night Tube was ditched in March 2020 so more trains could run during the day to increase social distancing, but following the murder of Sarah Everard, thousands signed a petition to bring it back amid concerns for women’s safety.

The RMT claim that the workloads being forced on Tube drivers would wreck their work-life balance by “bulldozing through additional night and weekend working”.

Advice if travelling today

Advice issued from Transport for London (TfL):

• Allow extra time to complete your journey
• Consider walking or cycling, as other lines and services are likely to be busier as people seek alternative routes 
• Follow our safer travel guidance throughout the strike
• Check status updates before you travel using our travel tools below

TfL have called for RMT to call off the strike

TfL have called for RMT to call off the strike and enter talks about the staffing requirements of the Night Tube.

Nick Dent, director of London Underground customer operations, added: “The RMT’s planned strike action is needless and it 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.

“This review can only be successful if the RMT agrees to meet us for talks and withdraws its proposed action so we can all see how these changes will work in practice.

“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.”

Frequent trains still running

Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines are still running a frequent service despite less trains running due to strike action.

Passengers can expect one train every four minutes on the Victoria line, while the Jubilee is running one every five minutes.

The Northern is running one train every seven minutes.

Transport Secretary urges union to “get services running”

Grant Shapps told LBC: “I absolutely appeal to the unionsto not disrupt everyone’s lives. We have had enough disruption through coronavirus.

“This is a dispute between TfL, the workers there, and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, so I don’t have a direct role in it.

“I would just appeal for them to get round a table and get these services running. This is the last thing that Londoners need. I urge them to think again.”

Londoners complain

Commuters complained of the ‘toxic’ strike action on the London Underground as they faced long delays.

They took to Twitter to describe the stressed of traffic growing on the roads and buses crawling along.

One wrote: “In solid traffic already not gonna last long today.”

Another said: “It’s disgusting. They earn more money than any of the British public services or frontline jobs. And yet again they strike and bringing chaos/financial difficulty to the whole of London. All because the don’t wanna work a night shift.”

A third tweeted: “Trying to get to work during a tube strike, haven’t done this for a while. Wish me luck!!!”

London Underground boss say strike is unnecessary

Nick Dent, director of London Underground customer operations, has said that: “At such a pivotal time for the capital’s recovery, we are hugely disappointed that the RMT is threatening London with this unnecessary action.

“By making changes to Tube driver rosters we have provided greater flexibility for drivers as well as permanent work and job security, something welcomed by all other unions.”