East london line (mostly) avoids tube strike chaos

Photo: SPS Miler, wikimedia commons

TfL’s tube strikes  are expected to cost London’s economy £48 million, according to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but east Londoners will be able to avoid the chaos.

There will be minor problems with stations on the East London line that share an interchange with the underground, and the east London line will close before midnight, but apart from some minor disruption, the DLR and London overground are expected to run as usual.

The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) unions are striking to fight plans to cut ticket office staffing levels, claiming security could be compromised for passengers.

But London Underground (LU) has insisted the plans would mean all stations would still be staffed and has pledged there will be no compulsory redundancies.

To check specific  routes, passengers can check disruptions live on the tfl website.

In east London, the East London line will be closed between New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace/West Croydon after 2300 each night from Monday 6 to Thursday 9 September because of planned engineering works.

The last southbound train to Crystal Palace will depart Dalston Junction at 2300 and the last southbound train to West Croydon will depart Dalston Junction at 2240.

After 2245, valid tickets will be accepted on southbound Southern services between New Cross Gate and East Croydon. Customers for Crystal Palace are advised to take Southern Services from New Cross Gate to Anerley and then local buses 157 or 358 – valid London Overground tickets will also be accepted on these bus routes.

The action will cause “wholesale disruption to services across the entire tube network,” according to Geoff Martin, a spokesman for RMT, but Tfl says there will be minor delays on the following routes:

District line

Circle line

Central line

Bakerloo line

Waterloo & City line

As many as 10,000 of the subway’s drivers, station staff and engineers staging the first of a series of 24-hour strikes over employment cuts. London Mayor Boris Johnson called in 100 extra buses and a 500- berth boat that will carry 10,000 people on the River Thames to help commuters.

Commenting on the strike, the mayor said the strike was politically motivated, adding: “everybody in London understands that at a very difficult financial time,  you need to make essential reforms to the way you run. We are not making  compulsory redundancies…all we are saying is we want to move people out from the counters and onto the concourses where they can help the passengers.”

Colin Stanbridge, Chief Executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said: “This strike action could not have come at a worse time with the capital only just beginning to find its feet after a difficult economic slowdown and many returning to work after the summer break. Londoners will still struggle in to work, aided by the additional transport laid on by the Mayor, but the capital will not be as productive as normal and our reputation as the world’s leading business centre will suffer.”

One Response

  1. Parker Matsoukas January 9, 2011

Leave a Reply