REMINDER: Travel advice ahead of RMT strike on two Tube lines

15 September 2016
Strike action planned from 21:30 today (Thursday 15 September) and all day on Friday 16 September on Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
"We hope that the RMT will work with us to resolve the issues and call off the action so that our passengers are not needlessly disrupted"
Steve White
Operations Director, London Underground
  • Customers advised that these services will be disrupted from 21:00 today
  • Follow tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike and @TfLTravelAlerts, @TfLTrafficNews and @TfLBusAlerts for the latest information

Transport for London (TfL) is advising customers that strike action is planned to take place on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines today (Thursday 15) and on Friday 16 September.

Some drivers on these two lines who are RMT union members are currently planning to strike from 21:30 today for 24-hours. This will see some drivers not book on for any shift that starts within this time.

London Underground (LU) has been in discussion with the RMT union to try to resolve the dispute, which is about a number of local-level issues at two of the three depots covering the lines including the duration of unplanned breaks taken by a minority of drivers.

Steve White, Operations Director for London Underground, said:

'We completely understand that sometimes drivers need to take a break during their driving duties to go to the toilet.

'But it has become clear that a minority are taking breaks of an hour or more and calling them toilet breaks. This has a direct impact on customers, with some trains being cancelled, and also on their fellow drivers who are having to cover for them.

'The suggestion that we are timing toilet breaks and asking intrusive questions is absolutely not true. That would be neither dignified nor reasonable. We are trying to support our staff - offering help through our Occupational Health team if a driver has health issues which requires them to take long breaks.

'We hope that the RMT will work with us to resolve the issues and call off the action so that our passengers are not needlessly disrupted.'

If the strike goes ahead, there will be:

  • No Hammersmith & City line service and a very limited service on the Circle line from around 21:00 today and all day tomorrow (Friday 16 September)
  • Circle line services will be much less frequent than usual and extremely busy, especially at peak times, and may be subject to short notice cancellations

Services on other Tube and Rail lines, the bus network and river will run as normal but are expected to be busier as passengers seek alternative routes. Some roads in west and central London could also be busier than usual.

More buses will run to help Londoners get around. Buses do not accept cash, so customers will need to use their contactless debit or credit card, Oyster or bus & tram pass to continue their journeys. Customers are advised to allow more time for their journeys.

TfL advises all customers to check before they travel at tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike and follow @TfLTravelAlerts, @TfLTrafficNews and @TfLBusAlerts on Twitter.

Planned weekend engineering work means there will be no Circle or Hammersmith & City line service between Hammersmith and Edgware Road only on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September.

 

Notes to Editors:

  • Eighty-two RMT members were balloted at two depots
  • Fifty members voted in the ballot and of these 43 voted for strike action
  • There are 265 drivers in total on the Circle and Hammersmith & City line