Transport for London has told customers to check before they travel as Tube drivers who belong to the RMT prepare to strike on 2 and 4 June, with several lines expected to have no service if the walkout goes ahead. Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer, said the network is getting ready for disruption even though most Tube lines should still run some kind of service.
The warning lands now because the stoppages are close enough to affect plans for the first week of June, and TfL is trying to push passengers toward earlier decisions on how to get across the city. Mann said the network aims to run a similar level of service to the April strike, when TfL operated around half of all services, while the final day of that action saw the network carrying 94 per cent of normal demand.
On the two strike days, no service is expected on the Circle line or the Piccadilly line. TfL also expects no service on the Metropolitan line between Baker Street and Aldgate, and on the Central line between White City and Liverpool Street. Services that do run may start later or finish earlier than usual, with only limited service before 06:30 and a request that customers finish their journeys by 21:00.
The dispute sits over RMT objections to proposals for Tube drivers to work a four-day pattern, but TfL says that change would be completely voluntary. Mann said drivers who do not want to move to the new arrangement could stay on a five-day pattern, and that many of the concerns raised by the union could be dealt with through more detailed work with TfL and other trade unions. She said a significant number of drivers had already backed plans to test the new pattern on the Bakerloo line.
That is where the fight now stands: TfL says its offer is meant to improve work-life balance without forcing anyone to change, while the RMT is still pressing ahead with another round of industrial action. There is still time for the union to call off the strike, but for now TfL is treating 2 and 4 June as disruption days and telling passengers to use TfL Go, the official travel app, or the TfL website before setting out.
Normal service is expected on Monday 1 June, Wednesday 3 June and Friday 5 June, but the days in between could look very different on the Tube. TfL’s message is simple: check first, travel second.
