Tube strike 2016: Here’s TfL’s travel advice for when Piccadilly Line is out of service on Wednesday evening and Thursday
TfL has hit out at Tube driver unions over plans for a strike on the Piccadilly Line later this week.
Drivers on the line who are union members are currently planning to strike from 9pm on Wednesday 23 March for 24 hours. Although the strike starts at 9pm, London Underground is aiming to keep services going until around 10.30pm.
There will be no service on the Piccadilly Line all day Thursday. Services on all other Tube lines are expected to run as usual, but are expected to be busier than usual.
Union RMT confirmed the strike earlier this month, and said there had been an overwhelming vote after a "comprehensive" breakdown in industrial relations. Last week, the union said the ballot action was "called after a prolonged period of industrial problems on the line – some of which have been directly related to serious underlying issues with the aging Piccadilly Line fleet".
"We urge the union leaderships to work with us constructively to resolve these local issues, so that Londoners aren’t subjected to pointless disruption,” Pat Hansberry, operations director for London Underground, said today.
The Piccadilly Line is a major mode of transport from central London to Heathrow Airport, and TfL today advised customers to use Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express services leaving from Paddington station instead.
TfL also warned that interchange stations along the Piccadilly line – Finsbury Park, Green Park and King’s Cross St. Pancras stations in particular – will be "much busier than usual".
"Our customers are advised to check our real-time travel tools for the latest information, in the event that the Piccadilly line strike goes ahead this week," added Hansberry.
RMT has also advised Tube drivers not to book on for shifts after 12pm on 19 April until 11:59pm on 20 April and again after 12pm on 21 April until 11:59pm on 22 April.