COMMUTERS warned not to travel this morning as disruptions expected to continue.
London commuters are being told to avoid travelling early in the morning on Wednesday as no Tube lines are due to run following a 24-hour strike.
Disruption is expected to continue following Tuesday’s strike, with no service until at least 7.30am and a severely disrupted service after.
Transport for London (TfL) is asking people to aim to make their journeys on the Underground from mid-morning instead.
Meanwhile, following yesterday’s strike, TfL’s chief operating officer, Andy Lord, said the network hasn’t “proposed any changes to pensions”.
“Nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out, so this action is completely unnecessary,” he said.
Read our tube strikes live blog below for the latest updates…
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What to do to avoid getting caught out
- If you can, consider working from home on strike days (Tue 1 and Thu 3 March)
- If you can, travel later in the day on the days after strikes (Wed 2 and Fri 4 March)
- Allow more time for your journey if you need to travel between 1 and 4 March
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London Mayor had to rely on Westminster bail outs
Mr Khan, 51, who is also the chairman of TfL, had to rely on a number of bailouts from Westminster to prevent London Underground and the capital’s buses from grinding to a halt.
That money though came with a number of strings attached, such as a pledge to look at the introduction of driverless Tube trains.
After the Department for Transport snubbed requests for TfL to keep its share of vehicle excise duty, or “road tax,” Mr Khan proposed introducing a £2 “clear air charge” for drivers in the capital.
Also being considered is a so-called boundary charge of up to £5.50 a day levied on motorists entering Greater London.
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Transport for London warns of disruption during 24 hour strike
Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, warned of disruption.
He said: “TfL haven’t proposed any changes to pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out.
“I hope the RMT will get around the table with us, continue talks and call off this disruptive action, which will cause huge frustration for our customers and further financial damage to TfL and London’s economy when we should be working together to rebuild following the pandemic.”
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Severe disruption expected despite normal service
The first of this week’s tube strikes came to an end at midnight.
However, it is expected there will be a high influx of travellers using the tube network this morning, particularly during rush hour.
Passengers have been advised to complete their journeys later in the day, to allow the service to catch up.
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Strike on Thursday to go ahead
Severe service interruptions are expected on Thursday when members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walk out for a second time this week.
Transport for London (TfL) said it expects severe disruption across all Tube lines tomorrow and Thursday.
The planned action is also likely to severely affect services on Friday, particularly in the morning peak.
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Sadiq Khan ‘considering shutting tube network for days at a time’
Workers have been told not to come into work on Thursday, March 3.
According to the Evening Standard, the decision to strike is over plans to axe up to 600 jobs posts in a bid to save cash.
Transport for London (TfL) is thought to be in a blackhole of £15 billion with London Mayor Sadiq Khan said to be “considering shutting London’s tube network for days at a time”.
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History of the night tube
The first lines to take on the 24-hour service were the Central and Victoria lines on August 19, 2016.
Central line services run between Ealing Broadway and Loughton/Hainault while the entire Victoria line stays open.
Services were then launched on the Northern line and the Piccadilly line joined the network.
And in July, 2017, it was announced the London Overground, also referred to as the Orange Line, will operate all night on Friday and Saturdays between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction – with the service to then be extended to Highbury & Islington in 2018.
The Northern line ran a 24-hour from Morden via Camden Town and on to Edgeware/High Barnet with no service on the Bank or Mill Hill East branches.
Piccadilly line ran between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5 with no services on the Terminal 4 loop or between Uxbridge and Acton Town.
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TfL’s finances dealt a severe blow during pandemic
TfL’s finances were dealt a severe blow by the drastic fall in revenue raised by fares during the pandemic.
Critics of the Mayor of London have also claimed that his pledge in 2016 not to raise fares has contributed to the situation.
Mr Khan, 51, who is also the chairman of TfL, had to rely on a number of bailouts from Westminster to prevent London Underground and the capital’s buses from grinding to a halt.
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Huge rises on rail season tickets
A 3.8% rise on rail fares would lead to hikes in the cost of annual season tickets, such as:
- Brighton to London (any route): Up £194 to £5,302
- Liverpool to Manchester (any route): Up £105 to £2,865
- Neath to Cardiff: Up £70 to £1,922
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Tube and bus fares also rose by 4.8% today
Road congestion around the capital was at its highest level of the year so far today, as some commuters attempted to drive through the capital.
The disruption came on the same day as Tube and bus fares went up by an average of 4.8%.
Picket lines were mounted outside Tube stations, while the union called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to intervene.
Another 24-hour walkout will be held on Thursday, and there will be knock-on effects on services on Wednesday and Friday.
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Thanks for reading
This is Joe Gamp signing off the London Tube Strikes blog.
Thanks for reading our live coverage throughout the day.
Milica Cosic back with you at 6am.
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Sadiq Khan urges RMT to sit with TfL to avoid ‘more misery’
The Mayor of London tweeted: “Transport for London’s funding deals came with conditions from the Government.
“Not accepting these conditions means it would go bankrupt.
“I urge the RMT to work with TfL to avoid further disruption and misery for Londoners.”
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Sadiq’s rivals at City Hall claim he has ‘worst strike record’
Transport spokesman for the GLA Conservatives, Keith Princs told the Evening Standard: “If the Mayor claims that he has a good strike record he’s delusional.
“He has the worst record of any London mayor and almost as many incidents of strike action than the two previous mayors combined. I think it’s time he admitted to himself that he’s failing London.
“This is a catastrophic week for London’s commuters, the network will take time to reset after each strike and will then have to reckon with further strikes on Friday and Saturday evening.”
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What to do to avoid getting caught out
- If you can, consider working from home on strike days (Tue 1 and Thu 3 March)
- If you can, travel later in the day on the days after strikes (Wed 2 and Fri 4 March)
- Allow more time for your journey if you need to travel between 1 and 4 March
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Shaps says strike ‘a kick in the teeth’ for Londoners
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps expressed frustration at the Tube strike.
He tweeted: “Having funded TfL to the tune of £5bn to protect jobs & London’s transport system throughout Covid, it’s a kick in the teeth for Londoners to suffer from @RMTunion strikes.
“I urge the @MayorofLondon & @TfL to get this resolved + Union to call off Thurs counterproductive strike.”
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Huge rises on rail season tickets
A 3.8% rise on rail fares would lead to hikes in the cost of annual season tickets, such as:
- Brighton to London (any route): Up £194 to £5,302
- Liverpool to Manchester (any route): Up £105 to £2,865
- Neath to Cardiff: Up £70 to £1,922
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Tfl describes strike as ‘extremely disappointing’
TfL has described the action as “extremely disappointing” and urged the RMT to “get around the table with us”.
In a statement TfL warned: “Londoners whose journeys rely on Tube connections are advised to work from home if they can, consider different modes and allow extra time for essential journeys.”
It added that no jobs would be lost as part of the proposals but vacancies would not be backfilled.
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Huge crowds swarmed bus stops and train stations
The mass-walkout over pay and pension issues has crippled the capital’s underground network.
Huge crowds swarmed bus stops and train stations during rush hour.
Those unable to get on turned to Uber to get them to the office – but they were met with extortionate prices.
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Customers advised to work from home on Thursday
Further disruption is expected all day on Thursday during another strike, with customers advised to work from home if they can, and into the morning of Friday.
A statement said: “We have operated as much of the network as possible given the drivers who were working.
“Shuttle services have operated on the Bakerloo, Northern, Central, Piccadilly and District lines during the day.
“No service has operated on the other lines, and no service is expected to run on the Victoria, Metropolitan, Jubilee, Circle or Hammersmith and City lines today.”
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Commuters were advised to complete tube journeys by 6.30pm
Travellers were urged to complete any Tube journeys by 6.30pm on Tuesday night.
TfL said disruption will continue into Wednesday morning, with no Tubes until at least 7.30am and a severely disrupted service until later in the morning.
It said customers should avoid travelling in the early morning and aim to make their journeys later in the day.
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TfL warns further disruption on Thursday
TfL said the second 24-hour strike is set to go ahead on Thursday.
It said in a statement: “Further disruption is expected all day on Thursday 3 March, when customers are advised to work from home if they can, and into the morning of Friday 4 March, when customers should avoid early morning journeys.”
The RMT this afternoon said no talks had taken place today.
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Thursday’s strike looks set to go ahead
A second planned 24 hour walk out will take place on Thursday.
Speaking to BBC London, RMT’s John Leach said there have been no negotiations today.
He said: “What there has been today is an absolute display of complete and total solidarity and determination by London Underground staff and members of the RMT who will not take this attack on their pensions, jobs and terms and conditions lying down.
“The Mayor’s announcements [today] have said nothing about addressing the issues in my opinion so we will continue.”
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Crippling delays
London Overground, DLR, TfL Rail, and London Trams are still running – but for the majority of Londoners, journeys have been disrupted.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members will be taking strike action because a financial crisis at LU (London Underground) has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions.”
The Tube strike has also caused delays on London’s roads, affecting private cars, commercial vehicles and buses.
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Uber hits back at reports of over-charging
An Uber spokesperson said: “As a result of the strike action currently taking place on the London Underground network, we have capped the level that prices can surge, and all users are shown the price of their trip before they book.
“We are also working hard to ensure that there are enough drivers out on the road to match demand.”
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TomTom: London’s road congestion was at 119% this morning
The Tube strike has also caused delays on London’s roads, affecting private cars, commercial vehicles and buses.
Location technology firm TomTom said at 9am the level of road congestion was 119 per cent – the highest figure for the capital this year.
The level was 80 per cent at the same time last week.
