Tube strike today: Thursday's action brings London Underground grinding to a halt again

Day two of the Tube strikes began shortly after midnight. Credit: PA

Strike action has once again caused disruption for London commuters as most Tube lines are suspended.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have walked out again for 24 hours on Thursday (March 3), amid a bitter dispute over jobs, pensions and conditions.

Transport for London (TfL) said commuters should brace for 'severe disruption' as every Tube line is at least partly suspended, with no service at all on eight lines.

The London Underground workers' industrial action is causing a third day of travel chaos, as Tuesday's strike caused knock-on misery for commuters yesterday.

Although the first day of strike action was over by Wednesday, most Tube lines remained suspended and some stations were still shut at rush hour while the network recovered.

Wednesday's disruption continued until at least lunchtime, as the service struggled back into action following the walkouts.

What days and times are this week's Tube strikes, and when will the strikes end?

  • Tube drivers' March strikes affected all London Underground lines on Tuesday, March 1, and will kick in again on Thursday, March 3, between 12.01am and 11:59pm. Picket lines will be mounted outside Tube stations again on Thursday. TfL is warning Wednesday and Friday rush hour commuting is also likely to suffer from knock-on effects of the previous days' strikes.

  • The separate Night Tube strikes, which centre on a dispute over Tube driver rota changes, affect the Victoria and Central Lines overnight every weekend until June.They start from 8.30pm on Friday, March 5, to 8.30am on Saturday, March 6, and restart from 8.30pm on Saturday to 8.30am on Sunday, March 7.The strikes are scheduled to continue at the same times every weekend.

Commuters queue for a bus outside Paddington station

Tuesday's disruption came on the same day as Tube and bus fares went up by an average of 4.8%.

This week's strikes marked first fresh round of Tube staff industrial action since the government's Covid restrictions lifted last week, and TFL ended mask wearing rules.

On Tuesday, picket lines were mounted outside Tube stations, while the union called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to intervene.

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People tried to get to work on buses or in taxis but huge queues formed, forcing many to give up and go home.

Road congestion around the capital was at its highest level of the year so far as some commuters attempted to drive through the capital.

During the morning's strikes some commuters said the capital was "becoming unliveable".

John Rayner, 28, a construction worker who was waiting for a bus in Paddington, west London, said: "I missed two buses this morning because queues for buses are so long and some buses don’t even bother to stop.

"I walked to Paddington for over an hour as I thought I would have more luck getting a Tube from here. It is a joke. This city is becoming unlivable."

A person in a bus at Stratford Station in east London during a strike

Office worker Jasmine Keane, 40, said: “I have had to take an Uber to get to work.

“I don’t even know what time I will get to work with the traffic and weather.”

Rush hour commuters were being warned planned action is also likely to severely affect services on Wednesday and Friday, particularly in the morning peak.

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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also expressed frustration at the Tube strike.

Separately, ongoing Night Tube strikes on some lines will continue this weekend, with the first services affected Friday night and the last on Sunday morning - bringing the total number of days affected to almost five.

TfL has criticised the latest round of industrial action, saying there are no proposals on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals it has set out.

“TfL will do all it can to provide as many transport options as possible, but customers are advised to check before they travel, consider if their travel is essential and work from home if possible. They should leave more time for journeys and travel at quieter times where possible,” said a statement.

The public transport operator added in a statement on Monday morning: “Strike action has been called despite there being no proposals tabled on pensions or conditions, and no job losses.

“TfL’s actions to make London Underground more efficient and financially sustainable – including an independent review of its pension arrangements – are in response to Government conditions of funding agreement."

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on a picket line outside Oxford Street underground station Credit: PA

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members will be taking strike action because a financial crisis at LU (London Underground) has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and‎ pensions.

“These are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to strike to defend their livelihoods.

  • Road congestion around the capital was at its highest level of the year as Tube trains ground to a halt

“The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis.

“In addition to the strike action, RMT is co-ordinating a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat.”

The Government announced a new funding deal for TfL last week, which will run until the end of June.