London Underground drivers are set to walk out again on Thursday, bringing a second day of strike disruption to Tube passengers in London this week. The RMT has confirmed its action will go ahead, and the stoppage is expected to hit key parts of the network from the first train.
No service is expected on the Circle line, Piccadilly line and the central sections of the Metropolitan and Central lines, while other lines are due to start later, finish earlier and run less frequently than usual. The Elizabeth line, London Overground, national rail and the DLR are due to run as normal, but buses are likely to be crowded and slowed by more congested roads than usual.
The timing matters because many commuters have already tested the system once this week. TfL said Tuesday’s strike did not close most of the network after more drivers than expected reported for work, with 60% of drivers working. It also said Oyster and contactless card taps were down by around 10% across the day, Tube journeys measured by contactless data fell by 41%, and passenger numbers were significantly higher than normal on buses, the Overground and the Elizabeth line. The Jubilee line ran almost 90% of normally scheduled kilometres, and services were back to normal by Wednesday morning without any residual impact.
The dispute is over a proposed four-day working week for drivers, a change TfL says is voluntary but one the RMT has blocked. The proposal has been strongly welcomed by Aslef, which represents just over half of Tube drivers in London, but no further talks have taken place since negotiations at Acas ended without resolution on Monday. TfL urged the union to call off the strike and said it continues to push for agreement on the plan.
For now, there are no more Underground stoppages scheduled beyond Thursday, but the route out of the dispute still runs through talks expected next week. Whether those discussions produce a compromise on the four-day week will determine if London’s Tube riders get a break after a week of disruption, or another round of the same.
