People using the London Underground are today (January 26) facing disruption due to a 24-hour walk out .
The strike, which began at 9pm on Wednesday (January 25), will affect the Central and Waterloo & City Lines and will continue until 8.59pm later today.
There will be no service at all on the Waterloo & City Line, while the Central Line will be running a reduced service.
It comes after an argument over staff cuts, with the RMT Union claiming the strike is due to the "forced displacement of staff".
Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, had previously said: "RMT negotiators have made strenuous efforts through the ACAS machinery to resolve this dispute but the door has been slammed in our faces."
Earlier this month, a 24-hour strike crippled London's transport network on January 9, causing scenes of chaos across the capital.
While this newly announced strike is only affecting two lines, it will still disrupt much travel across the capital.
We will be bringing you updates on our Live Blog.
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Key Events
Waterloo & City Line drivers 'defy strike' by turning up to work
Tube drivers on the Waterloo & City Line defied today’s strike and turned up for work today (January 26), reports Evening Standard.
A senior Tube source told the paper: “We didn’t expect this. We have had a good service during the morning peak.
“We ran the full five train service because drivers turned up for duty.”
Map of expected Central Line service
Transport for London (TfL) statement
Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “This strike is completely unnecessary.
“Like any responsible transport authority we regularly examine how we can provide the best possible service to customers and to achieve this sometimes we need to move staff from locations where they are under-utilised, to the places where they are really needed.
“We have agreements with the trade unions that enable us to do this.
“We have identified eight drivers for whom there is not enough work on the Central line, so we have asked them to move to another line where they would make a real difference to the service our customers receive.
“We are committed to minimising the impact of this move on the eight drivers and we encourage the unions to engage with us in finding a way to do this. The drivers will also have priority on any vacancies in their original location should they wish to return.
“We call on the RMT to honour this long-standing agreement and join us for more talks to resolve this issue rather than cause needless disruption to our customers.”
Good morning!
Good morning readers.
We will be bringing you updates throughout the day on this blog, including alternative travel routes and information on the reduced Central Line.
