One-third of Tube staff off sick as Underground trains still packed
Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged more Londoners to stay at home today amid the coronavirus lockdown as he repeated his call for the government to ban construction work in the capital.
Khan warned London’s Tube and bus transport network is approaching breaking point, with almost a third of Transport for London (TfL) workers off sick or self-isolating.
Coronavirus: Tube services may be cut further
“TfL will do everything possible to continue safely running a basic service for key workers including our amazing NHS staff, but if the number of TfL staff off sick or self-isolating continues to rise – as we sadly expect it will – we will have no choice but to reduce services further,” Khan warned.
“Many of them have years of safety-critical training in order to run specific lines – so it is simply not possible to replace them with others.”
Yesterday the Prime Minister’s spokesman said non-essential construction work could continue as long as labourers work two metres apart at all times.
“Construction should continue if can happen in a way that complies with PHE guidance, and practice safe social distancing on site,” he said.
“The industry has issued guidance itself onsite operating procedures through tjhe construction leadership council. Employers and employees should refer to that.”
But Khan insisted the government ban construction work, saying it was impossible to maintain the two-metre gap to protect workers from coronavirus.
‘Too many people’ using Tube
Today he said: “It remains the case that too many of the people using TfL services at the busiest times work in construction. I repeat my call on the government to ban non-safety construction work during this period, as TfL did yesterday.
“We also urgently need more financial support for the self-employed, freelancers and those in insecure work. In the absence of government action, we are working with the Construction Leadership Council to try and spread the start times of work on the biggest sites in London.”
TfL early morning data suggests Tube travel has fallen a third on yesterday’s numbers, which were already 88 per cent down on a normal day. Pictures of packed Tube trains flooded social media yesterday.
Govt has called for expanded Tube service
The government has called on Khan to expand the London Underground service to allow key workers entering the capital to stick to social distancing guidelines.
But the RMT union slammed the government’s stance as “grossly irresponsible” yesterday.
British Transport Police has deployed 500 officers across London to control the flow of commuters around Tube and Overground stations.
TfL has also emailed 4.5m passengers urging them not to use public transport unless absolutely necessary.
Khan has also halted construction work on Crossrail, which means it is likely to be delayed even further than its current June 2021 deadline. The London rail project was originally meant to open in December 2018.