Bus queues at Victoria Station on Friday morning as Tube suspensions forced commuters to seek alternative transport
(Picture: Jeremy Selwyn)Commuters vented their anger at Transport for London on Friday as they faced a second morning of chaos caused by a one-day Tube strike.
Passengers took to social media to complain, with some posting pictures of queues of “hundreds” of people waiting for stations such as Harrow and Wealdstone to open.
Others said they could see empty Piccadilly line trains running - while they were left locked outside stations such as Sudbury, Southfields, Turnpike Lane and Acton Town.
Susan Hall, Conservative group leader on the London Assembly, said the delay in reopening the Tube after Thursday’s 24-hour walkout by the RMT and Unite unions was “utterly disgusting”.
@TfL why is Tottenham Court & Goodge Street still closed? Honestly the service lately is dreadful. pic.twitter.com/JZ6crormKv
— Impartial Kris (@KrisDavidsonAnt) November 11, 2022
She said: “Stanmore station closed until 8am - the unnecessary strike was yesterday. People desperate to get to work, you should all be ashamed.”
TfL had warned that it would take until “mid morning” to fully restore services and reopen stations. Most Tube drivers belong to Aslef and did not take part in the strike.
But the decision of about 10,000 RMT members to walk out - for the sixth time this year, in a dispute over pensions and the axing of up to 600 station staff posts - meant about 200 stations could not be opened yesterday and left many closed until after 8am this morning.
Commuters were frustrated to find stations such as Tottenham Court Road, Goodge Street, Euston Square and Kennington closed as they tried to get to work.
@TfL when is Southfields station going to open today so everyone knows whether to go grab a coffee or not…? pic.twitter.com/yyFI0VVh5m
— Caroline Townshend (@CarolineTownsh1) November 11, 2022
One complained: “Honestly the service lately is dreadful.” Another said: “The central line service is AWFUL!!!”
A third person tweeted: “Wondering why am I still paying full fare for this non existent service.”
By 8.45am, all Tube lines had reopened, though most reported “severe delays”, with parts of the Bakerloo line and London Overground part-suspended. Trains were reported to be “packed”.
TfL said the delay in reopening stations was due to shift patterns and the need for staff to carry out “safety-critical checks” before readmitting passengers.
A TfL spokesperson said: “I’d like to apologise to customers who are experiencing disruption on the network this morning following yesterday’s frustrating RMT strike action. Due to some staff not booking on for overnight shifts, we’ve struggled to reopen stations this morning. We’re working hard to restore a good service and would encourage customers to check before they travel.”
By mid-afternoon yesterday, only 10 per cent of the “normal” number of passengers had been able to use the Tube, due to “shuttle” services running at the above-ground sections of the Northern, Central and parts of the District lines.
Buses were 16 per cent busier than normal and reached 93 per cent of pre-pandemic levels as passengers sought alternative ways to travel.
