Tube strike 2017: Commuters battle through morning rush hour misery

Chloe Chaplain9 January 2017

Londoners battled to work this morning with almost no Tube service due to strike action over job losses and ticket office closures.

In the early hours of the morning almost all lines were suspended with the exception of the Bakerloo Line which was running a special service between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone.

The Tube strike comes a day before further strike action is due on Southern Rail services, spelling travel misery for hundreds of thousands of people this week.

Commuters desperate to travel to work have been Tweeting TfL services trying to establish which stations are open.

The Central Line Twitter account posted: “The line will be running but some stations will be closed, I won't know which ones until staff do or don't turn up for work.”

Tube Strike: 9th January 2017

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After 7am the Central Line began running a reduced service between North Acton and West Ruislip, Epping to Liverpool Street and Hainault to Liverpool Street via Newbury Park.

The Bakerloo Line is operating between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone only, with trains approximately every 10 mins.

Tube strike: Commuters wait for a bus in the early hours of the morning
Jeremy Selwyn

There are severe delays on the District Line from Earls Court to Richmond and Ealing Broadway and minor delays on the rest of the line.

Jubilee Line is operating from Stanmore to Baker Street only and there is no service on the Metropolitan Line betwen Baker Street and Aldgate.

The Northern Line is operating from Edgware to Golders Green, High Barnet to East Finchley and Kennington to Morden.

And the Piccadilly Line is running from Acton Town to Uxbridge and Cockfosters to Arnos Grove.

The Circle, Hammersmith and City, Waterloo and City and Victoria lines are all closed and there is a good service on London Overground, DLR and London Tram services.

It is expected that more stations will begin to open throughout the morning but TfL previously announced that Zone 1 stations within the Circle Line boundary will remain closed all day.

Just after 7:15 TfL reported a good service on the DLR and London Overground but they are expected to be busier than usual.

Early risers are already feeling the impact of the walk-out which is set to cripple the entire city’s transport system.

Pictures show commuters queuing at bus stops and station entrances first thing this morning.

Adam Tate tweeted at 6:30am: “Started my journey 15 mins ago still not expected to get in until 8:40am; oh no the first day too.”

Rine Popat wrote: “Thanks to the #TubeStrike I've been up at god knows hour to drop my siblings to work before I start work.”

Tube strike: People were waiting at bus stops early this morning
Jeremy Selwyn

Another frustrated commuter, Imi Groome, added: “The first overpacked bus has just cruised past the station. This is going to take a while. #TubeStrike.”

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association walked out at 6pm in a long-running dispute over jobs and ticket office closures.

They rejected a last minute offer from Transport for London as well as a plea from Mayor Sadiq Khan to call off the action.

The unions say over 800 jobs have been axed as ticket offices closed, claiming staff are being abused by passengers facing queues at ticket machines.

TSSA reps rejected the latest offer, following an earlier decision by the RMT.

Tube strike: Crowds outside Oxford Circus Tube station as people dash for the last trains.
Nigel Howard

Transport for London announced it is running a limited services on eight of 11 Tube lines and expects 60 per cent of stations to open.

It advised that, although the strike ends at 6pm, customers should expect disruption to continue for longer.

Steve Griffiths, Chief Operating Officer for London Underground, said: "I thank customers for their patience as they try to make their journeys today during this unnecessary strike.

“We have hundreds of Travel Ambassadors on hand to help keep customers informed of what services are running and to help them get around the capital.”

Londoners have been advised to walk or cycle where possible and have been warned that buses and roads are expected to be extremely busy.

All day Monday: The strike is set to last until the end of Monday.
AFP/Getty Images

National Rail services will not be affected by the strike but there is expected to be no Underground services from key interchange stations such as Victoria, King's Cross, Waterloo, Paddington, Euston, Bank and London Bridge.

Piccadilly line services will run between Hammersmith and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3, but there will be no service to Terminals 4 or 5.

There will be no service at all on the Victoria or Waterloo & City lines, and all other lines will be severely affected, with limited services in outer London.

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