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Central Line strike: London Underground drivers in 24-hour walkout | Central Line strike: London Underground drivers in 24-hour walkout |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Hundreds of thousands of London Underground (LU) passengers have had their journeys disrupted in a 24-hour strike by drivers. | |
There will be no services running on the Central Line, including the Night Tube. The Waterloo and City Line is running but with severe delays. | There will be no services running on the Central Line, including the Night Tube. The Waterloo and City Line is running but with severe delays. |
People are experiencing overcrowded stations, trains and replacement buses. | |
Union Aslef said the strike, which started at midnight, was over working conditions. LU said it was "needless". | |
Transport for London said there was a "queuing system in place" at Ilford, Manor Park and Forest Gate to cope with the crowds. | |
On social media, passengers have been speaking about their nightmare journeys. | |
Lewis Allcock tweeted that his 167 bus to Ilford was "so ancient, there was no Oyster tap system - free ride!". | |
Another Twitter user described a "bizarre sight of vintage Routemasters and tourist open-tops ferrying commuters". | |
Aslef's Finn Brennan said the strike was over a number of issues, including "unsafe" working practices. | Aslef's Finn Brennan said the strike was over a number of issues, including "unsafe" working practices. |
"Drivers are continually forced into overtime and unsafe new working practices are pushed through without agreement," he said. | "Drivers are continually forced into overtime and unsafe new working practices are pushed through without agreement," he said. |
"It would be a dereliction of our duty as trade unionists if we did not take action to stop our members being treated like this." | "It would be a dereliction of our duty as trade unionists if we did not take action to stop our members being treated like this." |
Nigel Holness, director of network operations for LU, apologised to commuters for the "unnecessary disruption". | Nigel Holness, director of network operations for LU, apologised to commuters for the "unnecessary disruption". |
On the scene: Tom Edwards, BBC London transport correspondent | |
A misty Epping Tube station at 07:30 and lots and lots of passengers were still turning up who didn't know about the strike. | |
The options - a shared cab or the dreaded bus replacement service to Chingford. | |
I joined the commuters on the top deck. And so began a long, slow arduous crawl through Epping forest through traffic-clogged roads. | |
There were lots of empty seats on the bus and it seemed many people stayed away. | |
One lady told me she didn't know what the strike was about but she was going to be two hours late for work. She had the resignation of a hardened commuter used to such trials. | |
Essex relies heavily on the Central Line and life without it is slow and difficult. | |
As I write this I'm still on that bus... | |
Mr Holness said recent talks between the parties over the action had been "positive" but they had "not been able to agree on the reinstatement of a train driver who was dismissed for a serious breach of our safety regulations." | |
A 48-hour strike by rail workers on South Western Railway also began at midnight, affecting services to London Waterloo. | |
Another Tube strike is scheduled for 7 November. | |
Members of the RMT union took industrial action on the Piccadilly Line last week in a separate row. | Members of the RMT union took industrial action on the Piccadilly Line last week in a separate row. |