Transport chiefs have said they are still open to reconciliation talks with unions in the lead up to Tuesday’s planned Tube strike.
Londoners have been warned to expect chaos across the Central and Waterloo & City lines as members of the RMT and Aslef unions prepare to walk out in a dispute over drivers.
On Monday Transport for London attended talks with union bosses in an attempt to halt industrial action but the two sides failed to come to an agreement.
A spokeswoman for TfL told the Standard: “There were talks held earlier – not at the reconciliation service ACAS – but we have not reached an agreement.
“We remain open to talks again tomorrow. There is time tomorrow to seek a resolution and [whether or not talks are held] is in the hands of the unions.”
Union members are set to walk out for 24 hours from 9pm in protest of the “forced” transfer of eight drivers to different depots in London.
Unions claim the decision – which will mean eight drivers will have further to travel to work – was done without prior agreement.
London Underground have fervently denied this and said the “moves are in accordance with TfL’s agreements with the unions”.
The strike will leave the Central line with no service east of Leytonstone and a reduced service running on the rest of the line all day on Wednesday.
The Waterloo & City line, which uses the same pool of drivers, will have no service at all on Wednesday.
Tube strike chaos
TfL warned that Chingford, Ilford and Leytonstone stations will be “extremely busy” during rush-hour – with queues expected outside.
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Rail services between Romford and Stratford and London Overground lines between Liverpool Street and Chingford are also expected to be overcrowded due to the strike.
And the Victoria line will be much busier than usual, particularly Walthamstow Central, as will the Jubilee line between London Bridge and Waterloo.
A TfL statement said: “Customers may have to queue outside stations during peak times to prevent overcrowding, and it may take longer than usual to board a train.”
In a statement released last week, Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, accused London Underground of “bulldozing” ahead with plans “regardless” of union concerns.
"Let us be in no doubt, if LU are allowed to get away with this move on the Central Line they will start shunting drivers around at the drop of a hat regardless of the consequences,” he said.
"Our members will be sent out from pillar to post to plug gaps that are solely down to staffing shortages.
"With massive budget cuts in the pipeline at LU this is a straw in the wind as to how the company expects to operate in the future."
