TfL staff strike… but millions WFH: Bus and Tube workers stage walkout to cripple London
Millions of passengers are facing travel misery again this morning as the UK recovers from yesterday’s rail strike and workers for TfL walk out, bringing the Tube network to a standstill.
The latest update from this morning shows that only the Central, District, DLR, Overground and Northern lines are running any service at all, and even on these lines the service is severely reduced.
Commuters are being warned to expect severe delays and disruption to their journeys, with some being advised to not travel at all.
Buses are also severely affected as staff stage a coordinated walkout to cripple the capital.
Many Tube stations are empty or completely closed this morning (August 19)
The London Underground is facing severe disruption this morning with most lines not running at all
London is already seeing a scramble for buses this morning as they run a severely reduced service
It is believed many commuters are planning to work from home instead of going into the office
Meanwhile national rail services are expected to remain disrupted today after a strike yesterday left only half of the UK’s railway lines running.
Experts have warned that national rail will only be running at 70 per cent capacity on Friday and 85 per cent capacity tomorrow (Saturday, August 19).
Similarly a knock-on effect will also affect Tube services in days to come.
Members of the RMT Union on the London Underground have walked out for 24 hours over an ongoing jobs and pensions dispute.
In total, around 10,000 tube workers in the union are expected to be taking part in the strike, causing chaos in the capital and causing commuter woe for millions.
TfL has said that customers should prepare for ‘severe disruption on all lines’ and ‘little to no services throughout the day. No Night Tube.’
‘Avoid travel on the Tube if possible and only travel on the rest of the network if essential,’ it adds.
‘If you need to travel, river services, London Cable Car and Santander Cycles will be available to help you get around.’ It also reminds visitors that much of Zone 1 London is walkable.
The tube network is set to resume on 8am on Saturday but there is some knock-on disruption expected into the weekend.
Members of Unite at London Underground, Croydon Tramlink, Victoria coach station, Dial-a-Ride and river service will also join them and walk out on Friday.
During the last London Tube strike, a few lines or some sections of lines ran a reduced service, and trains stopped every 15 to 20minutes. Elsewhere, whole lines and branches of lines were closed or part-suspended, leaving millions of commuters stranded.
Some bus services will be suspended for 48 hours from today. Services affected are in Fulwell, Hounslow, Park Royal, Shepherd’s Bush, Stamford Brook and Tolworth.
Around 1,600 bus drivers are involved in the industrial action over the weekend, causing disrupting in west and south west London and parts of Surrey on both days.
In Fulwell, the 33, 65, 71, 85, 281, 290, 371, 481, 671, 681, K3, N33 and N65 services will be affected.
In Hounslow, 110, 111, 117, 203, 419, E1, H22, H32, H37 and H98 route will be impacted.
Elsewhere, the 105, 116, 216, 400, 411, 423, 635, 663, 696, 697, KU1, KU2 and KU3 will be affected by strike action in Hounslow Heath.
The 18, 220, 223, 224, 258, 266, 440, N18 and N266 services are not expected to run in Park Royal.
Meanwhile, the 49, 70, 72, 94, 148, C1 and N72 services in Shepherd’s Bush and the 9, 211, 272, 283, E3, H91 and N9 buses in Stamford Brook will be affected.
And in Tolworth, the 265, 293, 404, 406, 418, 465, 467, 470, 613, 662, 665, K1, K2, K4, K5 and S3 services will see a knock on affect.
No night bus services will run on any of the routes either.
