Tube strike: Friday services resume to normal after industrial action

The 24-hour strike began on Wednesday evening, with all trains shut down by 20:30 GMT, and will run until Thursday night. A 24-hour strike of London tube workers continues over pay and conditions surrounding the planned introduction of overnight tube services.

The final tube strike got here on July eight, and snarled the town a lot worse than this time round.

“It is absolutely vital that people who use night Buses across London are not inconvenienced by a reduced service before the night Tube has even started”.

LONDONERS have been struggling to work by bus, auto and bike, as the capital’s 400km Underground network remains silent today.

There are serious delays at the Blackwall tunnel, North Circular, and the A13 from the east through to the Limehouse Link and on to the City.

Congestion brought vehicles across the city to a halt, with traffic analysts TomTom reporting more than 200 jams causing tailbacks amounting to some 100 miles. Long queues were reported for bus and overground services around mainline rail stations in particular.

It appears increasingly likely that the September 12 date may not be met with the Mayor of London Boris Johnson declaring he’s “not fussed” when it starts as long as it is in the autumn.

“More interestingly, of those searches made during the second strike on 5 August, we saw a couple of very significant and telling spikes throughout the day”.

Labor unions have rejected an offer from the authorities saying it did not include sufficient guarantees on the number of rest days Tube train drivers working night shifts would receive. But he said he did not believe it could be introduced by 12 September. Unions called for direct meetings with Johnson after his comments.

Union leaders today said they were unhappy with the latest pay offer from Transport for London bosses, with RMT leader Mick Cash dismissing it as a “rehash of an earlier package”. “Those voices must be heard and understood now and talks convened so that the fundamental issues at the heart of this dispute can be resolved. That can only happen through a direct meeting”.

Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “We thank our customers for bearing with us during this unnecessary strike action”.