London commuters are bracing for further travel chaos as RMT union drivers launch their second 24-hour tube strike from midday today.
The walkout follows Tuesday's industrial action, with no fresh negotiations having taken place to resolve the ongoing dispute over Transport for London's (TfL) proposed four-day working week for Underground staff.
While TfL maintains the scheme would be voluntary, RMT members have rejected what they describe as an "imposed, fake four-day week" and continue to press their concerns about shift lengths and driver fatigue.
More than half of tube drivers are members of the Aslef union, which supports the proposals and is not participating in the strikes.
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Passengers should expect significantly reduced services across all Underground lines from midday.
Operations will be halted completely by 8pm.
The Piccadilly, Waterloo & City and Circle lines face complete shutdowns during strike hours.
Sections of the Metropolitan and Central lines will also see no trains running.
London commuters are bracing for further travel chaos as RMT union drivers launch their second 24-hour tube strike from midday today
|PA
Friday morning will bring continued disruption, with the first services not departing until 7.30am.
TfL is urging travellers to check their journeys before setting out, as service levels will fluctuate considerably between different lines.
Alternative rail options, including the London Overground, Elizabeth line and DLR, will continue operating throughout the industrial action.
The dispute centres on fundamental disagreements about the nature of TfL's proposals.
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The walkout follows Tuesday's industrial action
|PA
An RMT spokesman said: "The strikes are going ahead because TfL said they would negotiate on all elements of the proposal and then U-turned, saying to us they would go ahead without any changes to their original proposals.
"We have sought assurances from TfL in writing that our members can stay on their current shift patterns and agreed terms and conditions. TfL have yet to respond to us adequately. So it is therefore not a voluntary scheme and TfL are seeking to impose it on our members."
"The strikes are going ahead because TfL said they would negotiate on all elements of the proposal and then U-turned, saying to us they would go ahead without any changes to their original proposals."
The union has demanded written guarantees that members can retain their existing shift patterns and conditions, claiming TfL has failed to provide adequate assurances.
Passengers should expect significantly reduced services across all Underground lines from midday
|PA
Nick Dent, London Underground's director of customer operations, countered that "changes would be voluntary, there would be no reduction in contractual hours and those who wish to continue a five-day working week pattern would be able to do so".
He added: "We urge the RMT to call off this strike, meet with us and avoid any further disruption to Londoners. While we have been able to run more services than planned over the last 24 hours, we expect significant disruption to continue into Friday and the level of service we can provide will vary across lines, so customers should continue to check before they travel for the remainder of this week."
Tuesday's walkout saw commuters adapt quickly to the disruption, with Santander cycle hire usage surging by 60 per cent on Tuesday morning, according to TfL figures, while e-scooter and ebike operator Voi reported rides up 52 per cent compared with the previous week, attracting considerable numbers of first-time users.
Overall disruption proved less severe than during last September's strikes, when all RMT workers participated.
The RMT has announced four additional 24-hour strikes scheduled for May and June should the dispute remain unresolved.