Tube strikes - live: Full list of lines affected as Londoners struggle to travel around the capital
Around 10,000 Tube workers in the RMT union have walked out for 24 hours
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Only two Tube lines are operating a good service this evening amid a 24-hour strike by 10,000 London Underground workers who are members of the RMT union.
The Elizabeth line and DLR are running as usual, while the Bakerloo, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines are all fully suspended.
The Central, District and Northern lines are part suspended, with a pared back service on the routes that are in operation; the London Overground has a good service on “most routes” but the Liverpool Street to Cheshunt/Chingford/Enfield Town part of the network is suspended.
Earlier today, politicians hit out at transport workers in response to ongoing industrial action.
PM hopeful Liz Truss said she “will not let our country be held to ransom by militant trade unionists”, while transport secretary Grant Shapps threatened to impose new working terms on striking rail employees, revealing plans to use a section 188 order to end the disputes.
Bus users hoping to avoid Tube warned of London bus strike
Many people who usually use the Tube to get around London will be hoping to catch a city bus instead. However, there is also a bus driver strike today and tomorrow (19 and 20 August),
Around 1,600 bus drivers who are members of the Unite union and employees of London United are involved in the 48-hour walkout, on top of the RMT Tube workers strike and London Overground strike.
Bus services will be disrupted in west and south west London and parts of Surrey on both days.
Read more on which services are affected here:
When is the London bus strike and which routes are affected?
London’s transport network will grind to a halt later this week
TFL posts colour-coded chart for affected services, warns of Sunday disruption
TFL has published a handy chart showing which London services are out of action today
“Strikes will affect your journey 18 and 21 August,” they said.
On the chart, a red dot = no service / severe disruption - avoid travel.
Orange dot = reduced / irregular service - check before you travel / allow more time for your journey.
Green dot = check before you travel.
It shows disruption expected on the Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and London buses into mid-morning on Sunday.
National Rail: Disruption between London Paddington and Heathrow expected until 10.30
National Rail enquiries has alerted train passengers that services between Paddington and Heathrow Airport remain disrupted, and will be until mid-morning, due to a signalling issue.
An alert read: “A fault with the signalling system between London Paddington and Acton Main Line is causing disruption to journeys between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport / Reading. As a result, trains may be cancelled or delayed by up to 20 minutes.
“Disruption is expected until 10:30.”
Which lines are running this morning?
Though most TfL lines are out of actions as of 8am Friday, there are a few with a reduced service.
The Elizabeth line is seeing trains, albeit with “severe delays”.
On the Northern line, a reduced service is operating between Golders Green and Edgware and between High Barnet and East Finchley, with trains approximately every five minutes.
On the Central line, a reduced service is operating between White City and West Ruislip / Ealing Broadway; between Liverpool Street and Hainault via Newbury Park; and between Leytonstone and Epping with trains approximately every 15 minutes.
On the District line, a reduced service is operating between West Ham and Upminster, approximately every 15 minutes.
On the London Overground, a reduced service is operating between Highbury & Islington and Clapham Junction/New Cross/Crystal Palace and West Croydon only.
TfL reminds customers to not travel today
Transport bosses have been telling passengers not to travel unless necessary.
“Customers are advised to avoid travelling on the Tube and only travel on the rest of the TfL network if essential,” Transport for London (TfL)said in a statement.
There will be “severe disruption” on all lines with little to no services throughout the day and no Night Tube.
A coordinated bus strike will also see some services out of operation.
National Rail services will not operate as normal.
Bicycle company offers Londoners free bikes on strike days
A bike company is helping Londoners avoid commuter chaos by offering them a free bike on strike days.
During today’s walkouts and into the weekend, Swapfiets will be lending commuters a free bike to use for up to seven days.
More details here:
Bike company offers Londoners bicycles for free on tube strike days
London commuters will have access to free bikes for a whole week
Simon Calder to answer your travel questions as train, tube and bus strikes hit UK
Thursday and Saturday see nationwide industrial action across Britain’s railways, while on Friday the capital will grind to a halt amid London bus and Tube walkouts.
Worried about whether your train will run? Caught up in some of the summer holiday chaos as travel resumes at scale? Messed around by an airline or holiday company? Concerned about the reported demise of those ultra-low £10 air fares? Or simply after some inspiration for a winter getaway?
Our expert Simon Calder will be on hand on Friday 19 August to answer all your questions in an ‘Ask me anything’ event between 4 and 5pm. He will be answering live in the comments section below.
Simon Calder to answer your travel questions as train, tube and bus strikes hit UK
The Independent’s travel expert will be on hand to answer all your holiday queries
Network Rail boss defends £590,000 salary as 45,000 rail workers strike over pay
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines has dismissed questions about his £590,000 salary, as tens of thousands of railway workers go on strike over pay and conditions.
A BBC Breakfast reporter on Thursday highlighted Mr Haines’ recent pay rise from £544,000 to £590,000, saying: “It’s a huge amount of money to people listening to this. How do you defend that?”
Mr Haines responded: “What happened was I took a
pay cut the previous year, so my salary this coming year will be exactly the same as in 2018.
Lucy Thackray has more:
Network Rail boss defends £590,000 salary as 45,000 workers strike over pay
‘I really understand why people are worried about cost of living,’ says railway chief
Pay dispute will continue ‘for as long as it takes’, union bosses warn
Rail union leaders have warned the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions will continue “for as long as it takes” as travel chaos continues for a second day.
Tens of thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite walked out yesterday, affecting Network Rail and train operators across the country.
Another strike will be held on Saturday while RMT members on London Underground and London Overground, and some bus drivers in the capital in Unite are on a strike today,
Unions continued to blame Transport Secretary Grant Shapps for the deadlocked rail dispute.
Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary has said he hopes “common sense will now prevail” and the demands of the unions will be met.
“But for this to happen, Grant Shapps must either come to the table or give train operators the mandate to negotiate and break this impasse.
“Unless a negotiated settlement which is acceptable to our members is reached, this dispute will continue for as long as it takes.”
Read more:
Rail union bosses warn pay dispute will continue ‘for as long as it takes’
A fresh strike by unions caused travel chaos on Thursday.
Why are this week’s rail walkouts happening and who will be affected?
Passengers face yet more disruption to their journeys this week with Underground workers now staging a walkout after rail strikes.
The services will continue to be impacted with another nationwide strike planned for tomorrow.
But why are the strikes happening, and what have unions, rail companies and government said about the disruption?
Here’s everything you need to know about these strikes:
Train strikes: Why are this week’s rail walkouts happening?
Following June’s widespread train cancellations, the UK will see three days of rail chaos due to strikes
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