Tube Strike 2014: London Underground Workers Walking Out Next Week for 48 Hours

Tube Strike 2014: London Underground Workers Walking Out Next Week for 48 Hours
Members of the Metropolitan Police close off Holborn Tube Station on January 26, 2014 in London, England. The far-right nationalist party; Jobbik ('Movement for a Better Hungary') had planned to hold a public meeting in the Holborn area of London, but were forced to move the meeting to Hyde Park following clashes with Anti-Fascist crowds. (Photo by Dan Dennison/Getty Images)
Jack Phillips
1/1/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

The Tube strike looks like it will happen in early February 2014 after London Underground (LU) train drivers issued a warning this week to passengers.

Tube passengers were warned that there’s two 48-hour strikes by London Underground workers after the closing down of Tube ticket offices.

The company said that there’s contingency plans for the strike from 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4 until the morning of Friday, Feb. 7. Later, another strike will occur 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11. until the morning of Friday, Feb. 14.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association are carrying out the strike.

The Transport for London agency said there will be travel disruptions on Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

Buses and other forms of transportation will be busier than usual, it has been warned.

It’s unclear which lines will be the hardest hit by the strike. Central areas are expected to be the worst-affected,

Passengers are urged to check tfl.gov.uk and on Twitter, follow @TfLTravelAlerts, @TfLTrafficNews as well as @TfLBusAlerts.

The London Underground has argued that Tube ticket offices--which will kill hundreds of jobs--is necessary because passengers rarely use them.

“We’re committed to implement these changes without compulsory redundancies and there'll be a job for everyone at LU who wants to work for us and be flexible,” LU managing director Mike Brown told the Independent. “I urge the leaderships of the RMT and TSSA to work with us to help shape the future of the Tube, rather than threatening Londoners with unnecessary disruption.”

He added: “All a strike will achieve is lose those who take part four days’ pay. Should the strike go ahead, we'll do all we can to keep our customers informed and ensure we keep London moving and open for business.”

Transport for London said it will shut all 260 ticket offices by 2015 as part of a project to modernize the Tube. They also plan on having some trains run 24 hours per day on weekends.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
twitter
Related Topics