Commuters using the London Underground are being warned they may face severe delays today due to tube drivers on the Central Line striking.
The drivers begin the strike at 12.01am on Friday (October 5) and conclude the action at 11.59pm that same day.
That means no service on the Central line, including the Night Tube, as well as an extremely limited service on the Waterloo and City lines.
Although the Central line will not be running, the other tube lines are expected to be running a good service.
The 24-hour strike action, which is now set to go ahead on Friday (October 5) comes just a week after a 48-hour strike by RMT Union Piccadilly line drivers over a dispute with London Underground .
That particular strike caused chaos for many, and even caused London Bridge to be evacuated because of the congestion.
For all the latest news and travel information, follow our live blog updates below.
How is the strike action currently affecting the London Underground?
TfL has provided an update on how the strike action is affecting the London Undergound.
Severe delays between White City and Ealing Broadway.
— Central line (@centralline) October 5, 2018
Severe delays between Liverpool Street and Leytonstone.
No service on the rest of the line due to strike action.
LU tickets accepted on TFL Rail, London Overground, GWRailway, Chiltern and London buses via reasonable route.
'Avoid Central Line', says MP
Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, has urged residents to avoid using the Central Line today because of the strikes.
If you go down to the central line today you’re sure of a big surprise... ie best avoided today https://t.co/XD82Z6ab8C
— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) October 5, 2018
How are the Tube strikes affecting traffic in London?
Popular stat app Waze has compiled some figures on today’s Central Line tube strikes, focusing around this morning’s rush hour.
The app showed that;
- Central London routes are taking 20 minutes longer than usual
- 16 - 20% of traffic is in bumper to bumper gridlock
- 26% - 30% of traffic is heavy and driving at under 10 mph
Finlay Clark, Waze UK country manager, said: “While the impact in Central London will see more demand for buses and other forms of transport, we expect to see huge disruption to commuter towns served by the Central Line - as commuters struggle to find places to park in order to make it into the City and Central London.
“During last year’s 24-hour tube strike, we found that 24% of London’s traffic came to a standstill during the morning rush hour, and at home time, 35% of commuters were stuck in slow, heavy traffic.
“Due to the areas that the Central and Waterloo & City Line serve, a huge proportion of the capital’s roads will be hit by chaos. Drivers should take extra time to check routes before setting off, as journeys may take upwards of 10 minutes longer than usual.”
Passenger frustration
A number of passengers have taken to social media to complain about being late due to the tube strike.
Over 40 minutes and I'm still not out of East London. Love a tube strike
— (@The_Ledgerwood) October 5, 2018
Woodford and Liverpool Street services resume
The Central Line Twitter account has now said services are also running between Woodford and Liverpool Street.
ℹ️ We’re now currently able to run trains between Ealing Broadway and White City and Woodford and Liverpool Street. These services are running with severe delays, and there's no service on the rest of the line, due to the strike action.
— Central line (@centralline) October 5, 2018
Limited service running
Services are running between Ealing Broadway and White City, although there are severe delays.
ℹ️ We’re currently able to run trains between Ealing Broadway and White City only. These are running with severe delays, due to the strike action.
— Central line (@centralline) October 5, 2018
That didn't last long...
East Acton Station has now reopened following its temporary closure.
That’s didn’t last very long!
East Acton station CLOSED
East Acton station is currently closed due to an absence of station staff.
⚠️East Acton station is closed due to an absence of station staff. Services running between Ealing Broadway and White City are not stopping at East Acton.
— Central line (@centralline) October 5, 2018
Good service on other lines
This is the latest, according to TfL, on the disruption caused by the Tube strikes.
There is a good service on all other lines.
Central Line: No service between North Acton and West Ruislip and between White City and Epping via Newbury Park and Hainault only, due to strike action. SEVERE DELAYS between White City and Ealing Broadway.
What has TfL had to say about the dispute?
Nigel Holness, Director of Network Operations for London Underground, has called the planned strike “disappointing”, and has apologised for the “unnecessary disruption”.
“I am disappointed that ASLEF has chosen to go ahead with this needless strike action, despite positive discussions over recent days,” he said.
“In those discussions we have made good progress on resolving most of their issues, but have not been able to agree on the reinstatement of a train driver who was dismissed for a serious breach of our safety regulations.
“The safety of our customers and staff is paramount and something we will never compromise. We remain open for discussions on how to resolve this dispute, and apologise to our customers for the unnecessary disruption.”
Tube strikes 'hold London hostage'
One social media user has made his feelings known regarding the strikes today.
Like many others, he’s probably frustrated, angry and confused all at the same time.
Tube strikes really hold London hostage! Like just keep these guys happy I AM STRUGGLING TO GET TO MY DESTINATION!
— G (@itsgeorgio) October 5, 2018
How else can you travel?
In order to cope with the displaced commuters, 80 extra buses are being drafted in across 10 routes on the network as well as two night bus routes.
Buses, DLR, London Overground and TfL Rail services will accept Tube single and return tickets and National Rail cross-London tickets on reasonable alternative routes.
TfL travel ambassadors are being posted around the busiest stations to help guide the crowds to alternative routes.
'No service'
There is no service due to strike action. London Underground tickets are accepted on TfL Rail, London Overground, Great Western Railways, Chiltern and Local bus services via any reasonable route
— Central line (@centralline) October 5, 2018
Picket lines formed
Below are some images of picket lines at the west end of the Central Line.
They are expected to remain there all day.
Hopefully they have plenty of tea, coffee and other essentials!
Drivers 'bullied and intimidated'
ASLEF’s organiser Finn Brennan also didn’t hold back when it came to attacking TfL bosses.
“Management on the Central line treat their staff as dispensable units to be thrown away at will. Instead of supporting those unlucky enough to be unwell, the attendance management policy is being used to bully and intimidate them.
“Drivers are continually forced into overtime and unsafe new working practices are pushed through without agreement. It would be a dereliction of our duty as trade unionists if we did not take action to stop our members being treated like this.
“Senior figures at TfL need to take a long hard look at what is going wrong with industrial relations on London Underground and start to act to fix problems if more strikes are to be avoided.”
Why are Central Line Tube drivers striking?
We have all heard about the plans for Central Line Tube drivers to strike today, but why are they actually going ahead with it?
Well, ASLEF, the union representing the Central line drivers, revealed the exact reason earlier this week.
Speaking after the talks at ACAS which failed to reach a conclusion, ASLEF’s organiser Finn Brennan revealed that the drivers are striking over the sacking of a colleague by London Underground.
The driver, who had 25 years experience had made a “mistake”, resulting in his dismissal, but his colleagues voted nine to one in favour of industrial action over London Underground’s handling of the dismissal.
“The issues at the heart of this dispute are about people being treated fairly and with dignity at work,” he said.
“It is simply wrong that a driver with 25 years of excellent service should be summarily dismissed for one error of judgment when dealing with a defective train or permanently removed from driving duties because they have time off sick after a traumatic incident.
“Bizarrely, they are refusing to hold a review into the dismissal of a driver until Friday afternoon, 14 hours after the strike will have started!
“ASLEF asked that this case be reviewed on August 2 and repeatedly requested that this review be brought forward.
“Management repeatedly refused to do so. Instead of trying to resolve this dispute, management are engaged in macho posturing that does a real disservice to all those who will be inconvenienced by the strike on Friday.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of this 24-hour Tube driver strike.
The Central Line drivers begin the strike at 12.01am on Friday (October 5) and conclude the action at 11.59pm that same day.
That means there will be no service on the Central line, including the Night Tube, as well as an extremely limited service on the Waterloo and City lines.
Although the Central line will not be running, the other tube lines are expected to be running a good service.
