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TfL urges union to call off Thursday’s strike
TfL chief operating officer Andy Lord has appealed to the RMT to call off its second strike that is scheduled for Thursday, writes City Hall editor, Ross Lydall.
Speaking to the Standard, Mr Lord said “no proposals” had been tabled to change pension benefits. He said TfL had a “pretty good relationship” with the RMT, of which 4,900 members – 94 per cent of those taking part in the ballot – voted to strike.
Mr Lord said: “The challenge here is that some of their more militant membership and union leadership seem to believe that no change and the status quo is the only way forward.
“The Government have already provided £5bn to TfL. We need to become more efficient as an organisation.
“The frustration for all of us today is that the RMT are taking this action when we have not tabled anything [on pensions].
“I really want the RMT to talk with us and work with us. They have not published any further [strike] dates at this point. I encourage them to consider calling off Thursday’s strike. All it’s doing is making our financial position worse.”
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Nothern and Piccadilly resume service in parts of line
The Northern and Piccadilly lines have partial service in some areas of their route according to TfL.
The Northern line is operating between East Finchley and High Barnet / Mill Hill East at a reduced frequency, said TfL.
There is no service on the rest of the line.
The Piccadilly has partial service operating between Acton Town and Hounslow Central at a reduced frequency.
The Central and District remain part suspended.
All other lines on the London Underground are suspended due to strike action called by the RMT union in a row over job losses and pension payments.
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The knock-on effect of the Tube closures was apparent at queues for the taxi rank at Kings Cross, which snake around the corner, reports Barney Davis.
Accountant Georgia Mably, 45, said: “I’m only going in because the big boss is coming over from Brussels.
“Loads of overground trains have been cancelled as well.
“Thursday I’m definitely working from home.”
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Sadiq Khan: Strike causing ‘severe blow’ to Londoners
Sadiq Khan said: “It’s very disappointing this RMT strike has gone ahead. It is causing very serious disruption to Londoners and businesses that are trying to recover after two devastating years.
“TfL have tried to mitigate the impact of the RMT strikes but there is currently no service across the Tube network so we are asking Londoners to check before they make their journey, consider whether they are able to work from home and use alternative modes of transport where possible.
“This action is causing misery for Londoners and businesses alike and damaging TfL at the worst possible time.
“It’s gone ahead despite there being no job losses, and no changes to pensions or conditions. I urge the RMT to come to the table and work with TfL.”
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Hundreds attempt to pack onto Liverpool St buses
Barney Davis / Evening Standard
City of London Police are on crowd control at Liverpool Street as hundreds of people attempt to crush on to the already packed buses, reports Barney Davis.
Police have to shout “stand back” in scenes more reminiscent of kettling at a protest. Some are seen arguing back with officers trying to get them into a line to prevent a commuter crush.
One PC accused a particularly perturbed man, “Didn’t you have your breakfast this morning?” A City of London PC told the Standard: “Some people give you a bit of jip but I would be annoyed if it was my bus too.
Looking up at the grey sky as rain lashed down on the masses below, he adds: “And it’s always on the best days for it.”
Australian national John Landsdowne, 32, who works in marketing, was busy filming the thousand-strong queue said: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Through a wry smile he adds: “It’s crazy but you Brits love it eh?”
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Police help with crowd control outside Liverpool St station
Police could be seen helping with crowd control outside a busy Liverpool St station this morning.
Officers from City of London police could be seen on hand to help manage the throng of people attempting to board buses from the major transport hub.
One witness said: “Absolute carnage at Liverpool Street Station this morning”. The Standard has contacted the force for details.
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Tube strike ‘major blow’ for Londoners
West End businesses have called the tube strike a ‘major blow’ to Londoners, reports City Hall Editor Ross Lydall.
Dee Corsi, Chief Operating Officer at New West End Company, said: “The proposed tube strike action is a major blow for Londoners, already adding to the disruptions caused by the six month Night Tube strike action, which has been threatening the West End’s weekend night-time economy ever since it began in the new year.
“At a time when many businesses are looking to recover from the impact of the pandemic, the last thing they need is for their footfall to be hampered at such a critical point.
“We strongly encourage RMT to call off these strikes to help commuters and business owners in the capital resume normality after an immensely difficult two years.”
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TfL boss: RMT are ‘tukeys voting for Christmas’
Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, described the strike as “completely unnecessary” and compared the RMT to “turkeys voting for Christmas”, writes City Hall editor, Ross Lydall.
Speaking on LBC, he apologised to passengers for today’s disruption, which he said was premature as no proposals to change the pensions of TfL staff had been tabled.
He said TfL was hoping to run a “limited service” on some lines later today and warned that services would be disrupted tomorrow morning due to the knock-on impact of the shutdown lasting until a minute to midnight tonight.
Mr Lord said: “I would be very keen for the RMT to call off this action and enable us to run the service at a time when our finances have been decimated. We need the city to recover.”
Asked if TfL’s advice for Londoners to work from home if they can was akin to “turkeys voting for Christmas”, Mr Lord replied: “I think it is the RMT that are turkeys voting for Christmas.”
He added: “I would much rather we didn’t have this dispute and the RMT worked with us to get TfL into a sustainable position.”
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Some Overground stations closed – TfL
Some Overground stations were closed this morning despite the service not being directly affected by the RMT’s walkout.
One commuter, Denise Yeung, said: “TFL says overground is running but the gates to overground platforms were not even open this morning 7am at West Brompton”.
Although the service is running, TfL said: “Stations with connections to the London Underground are not open”.
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Lengthy queues for buses at Victoria
The near-total suspension of London Underground lines has driven demand for buses, with lengthy queues at Victoria station this morning.
One of those caught up in a queue for a bus this morning, Jessica Cholmondeley, said on social media: “Avoid coming into central unless you have to”.
Commuters queue for buses at Victoria
/ Lucy Young
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/tube-underground-strike-march-2022-today-tfl-latest-updates-news-sadiq-khan-b985205.html
