Andy Lord urges RMT to end second Tube strike — Tfl Status
Tfl status on Thursday turned into another day of disruption after a second 24-hour London Underground drivers' strike began, with no service expected on the Circle line, Piccadilly line and central sections of the Metropolitan and Central lines. Andy Lord, TfL's chief operating officer, urged the RMT union to call off the action.
The strike is the second 24-hour stoppage this week and comes after talks at Acas ended on Monday without resolution. TfL said it wants the union to work with it on the proposed four-day week, while the RMT said its action would go ahead.
Thursday's Tube service
TfL said other lines were due to start later, finish earlier and run less frequently than normal. The Elizabeth line, London Overground, national rail and DLR services were due to run as normal, giving passengers some alternatives even as central Underground travel was cut back again.
The dispute centers on the introduction of a four-day working week. TfL said the proposals were voluntary, while the RMT has accused TfL of trying to force through working changes. The clash has left the two sides heading into more talks next week.
Tuesday's strike figures
TfL said 60% of drivers worked on Tuesday, and the strike did not close most of the network. Services returned to normal without any residual impact on Wednesday morning, suggesting the disruption was limited to the strike day rather than carrying over into the next service day.
The operator also said Oyster and contactless card taps were down by around 10% across Tuesday, while Tube journeys fell by 41%. TfL said the Jubilee line ran almost 90% of normally scheduled kilometres.
“We are grateful to our customers for their patience while they made their journeys on Tuesday in spite of the disruption on our network caused by the RMT’s industrial action,” a TfL spokesperson said. The spokesperson added: “Oyster and contactless card taps were only down by around 10% across the whole day, showing that Londoners and visitors to the city were still able to travel despite the strike action.”
TfL and RMT talks
TfL said there are no further underground strikes scheduled, but the dispute remains open until the union and the transport body meet again next week. Lord's call for the RMT to end the stoppage leaves the network facing one more full day of reduced service before those talks.
