London Tube strike chaos continues for the second day today with some stations closed as workers have staged a fresh wave of walkouts during morning rush hour.
Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) who are responsible for running the stations are walking out today in the second day of a dispute over pay.
There were two stations Transport for London said were closed as of 7.30am: Kentish Town – due to escalator repairs – and Tower Hill – due to a lack of station staff.
There are currently minor delays on the London Overground, part closure on the Northern Line and on the London tram network. All other lines were operating a good service this morning.
The Overground has been hit by delays due to a trespasser on the track. Southern trains running from Victoria have also been disrupted until 11am due to a ‘failure of the electrical supply’ closing some lines.
Meanwhile there are 20 different issues across the National Rail network causing even more delays today including derailed trains and signalling faults.
London Tube strike chaos continues for the second day today. Pictured is a Bermondsey tube station sign informing commuters of the strikes yesterday
Members of TSSA union were on the picket line at London Liverpool Street station yesterday
It follows a picket line at Liverpool Street station with another at Embankment yesterday, but these did not appear to have shut either station.
TSSA sources told that they expect ‘many stations will potentially be left unstaffed for long periods, and many may well close at very short notice as the customer service managers run the station’. However, TfL officials have insisted that they do not expect any ‘significant’ issues on the network.
In London, the TSSA claimed its members are concerned about potential changes to their terms and conditions, job role and location.
The union’s general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said previously: ‘Our customer service manager members are united and determined to take strike action this week in defence of their terms and conditions.
‘This strike could have been avoided if London Underground had negotiated with us in good faith.
‘Instead, we have been left in a position where London Underground is still unable to explain the impact of its ‘Stations Changes’ proposals.
‘We cannot allow the continued threats to our members’ roles, locations, terms and conditions to stand unchallenged, that is why our members are taking strike action this week.
‘We’ll see how quickly London Underground get back round the negotiating table when they see the strength and determination of our members.’
But a TfL spokesman told : ‘We are disappointed that TSSA has announced this strike action following a consultation process.
Passengers try to board a train at Clapham Junction station in London during Monday’s strike
Commuters walk on a platform after a train arrived at London Waterloo during Monday’s strike
‘While we don’t expect this action will cause significant disruption, we urge TSSA to continue to work with us to help find a resolution.
‘There are no planned job losses as part of these vital changes which will improve the service we provide to customers at our stations.’
It comes after planned strikes by Underground drivers belonging to another union, Aslef, were called off last Thursday.
Members of Aslef were due to walk out both on Monday this week and then on Saturday, May 4.
But the union said that after a series of meetings at the conciliation service Acas, its negotiating team received a proposal that resolved the key issues in the dispute.
Another Aslef strike is expected on LNER on Saturday, April 20.
Aslef has also announced additional ‘action short of strike’ on Northern services between Monday, April 15 and Saturday, April 20.
And the RMT union has announced industrial action at CrossCountry this Saturday, April 13.
While there are no National Rail strikes currently scheduled, Aslef has threatened to hold more action as its pay dispute continues.