Tube Strike: London Faces More Travel Misery

Another strike is to bring the London Underground network to a halt this week after unions unanimously rejected the latest offer from Tube bosses.

ASLEF, RMT, Unite and TSSA said the deal still did not address concerns over pay and conditions on the new night Tube service - slated to begin on 12 September.

London travellers now face more disruption just weeks after another shutdown - the biggest in over a decade - brought the network to a standstill.

The walkout by thousands of workers will see no Tube from 6.30pm on Wednesday and none at all on Thursday.

Transport for London (TfL) is warning people to travel earlier on Wednesday but said services would be much busier in the hours leading up to the shutdown.

DLR, London Overground, tram and TfL Rail services are not affected but are also expected to be busier.

Extra river services and 250 more buses are being laid on.

The 9 July strike saw packed platforms for overland services and jammed roads - but sunny weather also convinced more commuters to walk or cycle.

London Underground (LU) said the new offer, designed to avert another strike, had been "reshaped" to give night Tube workers a better work-life balance.

But ASLEF berated LU over a "complete lack of firm commitments" and said its members wanted "guarantees on the number of weekend rest days they will have".

It added: "We genuinely regret the disruption this will cause.

"But the blame for this must rest with the pig headed determination of the Mayor to insist on a September launch instead of allowing more time for a negotiated settlement to be reached."

The RMT said its members were "furious" when they looked at the details of the deal.

It said the night Tube was a "botched" plan and would mean millions of weekday commuters "paying in terms of safety, reliability and quality in order to get a few thousand revellers home from central London".

The TSSA union accused mayor Boris Johnson of "gambling with the health and safety of our members".

First Great Western - which operates many trains to and from London Paddington - has also announced fresh strikes.

The RMT union has said action is planned on 23 August, and over the bank holiday weekend - 29 to 31 August.

The walkout is over concerns around the introduction of new Hitachi inter-city trains.

Meanwhile, TfL has also announced a £5.4bn overhaul of four of the capital's oldest tube lines.

It said the upgrades will bring faster, more frequent and more reliable trains to the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines.