Travel advice for District line customers ahead of planned strike

10 April 2018
Tube drivers who are ASLEF members currently plan strike action for Friday 13 April
"I apologise to customers for the disruption this completely unnecessary strike will cause and call on the unions to continue working with us to ensure the safety of our customers and staff"
Nigel Holness
London Underground's Director of Network Operations
  • Action would mean a reduced service across the District line for all of Friday
  • Further information available at tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike and via @TfLTravelAlerts and @Districtline

Transport for London (TfL) is advising District line customers that a reduced service will be in operation on Friday 13 April due to planned strike action by ASLEF members who work at the Acton Town depot.

There will be delays to journeys on the District line throughout the day, so customers should allow more time to complete journeys or change to a different line where possible. All other Tube lines will operate as normal. Services on the District line are expected to resume normally on Saturday morning.

The impact is expected to be minimal in central London due to normal service on the Circle line, with regular services between Gloucester Road and Tower Hill, but there will be more time between trains going to all western branches of the District line via Earl's Court and east of Tower Hill. There will be no services to Kensington (Olympia), however London Overground and Southern services will be calling at the station as usual. TfL Travel Ambassadors will be at key locations to provide travel information and advice to customers.

This dispute relates to the reassignment of a District line driver, who had experienced a number of safety incidents in their first few months of driving, to a station staff role. The driver had three separate safety incidents in 11 weeks, leading to a mutual decision for them to return to their previous role on a station. The driver was not disciplined, but agreed to the move which was proposed as part of the safety processes agreed to by our trade unions to ensure the safety of our customers.

Nigel Holness, London Underground's Director of Network Operations, said: "The safety of our customers and our staff is our top priority. In this case, a driver was offered an alternative role on our stations following a number of safety incidents in their first few months of driving. With so many incidents in a short space of time, despite several weeks of training and assistance, it was simply not safe for this employee to continue in a role as a driver.

"The situation is not as the union has described as no disciplinary action has been taken against the employee and our action is in line with the safety policies agreed with our trade unions. I apologise to customers for the disruption this completely unnecessary strike will cause and call on the unions to continue working with us to ensure the safety of our customers and staff."

Customers can keep up-to-date with the latest service information in a variety of ways, including:

  • Information on the TfL website at www.tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike.
  • Real-time information on the TfL Twitter accounts, including @TfLTravelAlerts and @Districtline, as well as the TfL Travelbot on Facebook messenger.