Bakerloo line strikes 2020: Tube passengers face weekend of travel misery as TfL staff take industrial action

Passengers on the London Underground are facing travel misery as drivers on the Bakerloo line are preparing to strike this weekend.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union confirmed that strike action will go ahead after talks with Transport for London broke down in a dispute over timetable changes.

Bakerloo line drivers will walk out for 24 hours at midday on Friday and again from midday on Sunday.

Meanwhile, weekend travellers will be hit by further disruption as the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines will close this weekend while a new signalling system is tested.

The Northern line will also be closed between Moorgate and Kennington due to work on the Bank station upgrade.

RMT said it had made intensive efforts to make progress in talks with TfL at the conciliation service Acas but to no avail.

The union's general secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT is angry and frustrated that hard work by our reps aimed at reaching a negotiated solution to this dispute has been wasted as the company have played us along and failed to make any kind of serious progress.

"That failure by London Underground chiefs means that the action goes ahead as planned and, even at this late stage, we would ask the Mayor to intervene to get his officials back around the table with a serious offer.

"Drivers voted overwhelmingly for action in this dispute, which is all about the Bakerloo line management imposing timetable changes on the Bakerloo line without any serious recognition of the stress impact on the operators expected to implement them.

"The bottom line is that you cannot place intolerable stress and pressure on Tube drivers that impacts on their safety-critical role and that is what this dispute is all about."

Nick Dent, London Underground's director of line operations, said: "We apologise to our customers for the unnecessary disruption this strike could cause, and will keep them informed as we continue to try to resolve the dispute this week.

"We met with the unions last week to outline the steps we have taken already and to talk through their concerns so that we can move forwards.

"I would urge the RMT to continue working collaboratively with us to resolve these issues."

TfL has said passengers should complete journeys on the Bakerloo line by 10am on Friday.

It said there is likely to be little or no service until Monday evening, with delays to any service that is operating.

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