COMMUTERS HIT BY MORE STRIKE MISERY
WALKOUTS ON TUBE AND RAIL ARE COSTING LONDON MILLIONS, SAY ANGRY BUSINESS CHIEFS ‘Heathrow rates cut could help small firms’
MORE than one million passengers suffered yet another day of travel misery today as Tube and rail strikes ravaged services in London and the South of England.
The 29th one-day walkout by RMT train guards on the Southern Rail mainline network, used by more than 300,000 passengers a day, brought cancellations and delays for commuters setting out from Sussex and Surrey.
In the capital, sections of the Central line — which carries more than 800,000 passengers a day — were closed and there were severe delays to the remainder of the route amid the sixth major Underground shutdown in less than a year.
There was no service between Leytonstone and Epping via Woodford, with delays throughout central London to West Ruislip. Queues built up outside many stations including Chingford, Ilford and Leytonstone.
Waterloo & City line services, the direct one-stop link used by 32,000 passengers a day between the mainline station and Bank, were suspended.
Southern Rail reported disruption to all 10 of its routes, including the Brighton line and the Gatwick Express, but said it hoped to run 75 per cent of services.
Business leaders roundly condemned today’s action and said the cumulative impact on the economy of London and the South-East, when combined with the cost of the Tube strikes in the last year, could be more than £500 million.
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: “Tube and rail services are vital lifelines of the capital’s economy. There is no question
about economic impact. Delayed meetings, missed flights or cancelled trips to bars, restaurants or theatres carry a collective, mounting cost.
“Continual industrial action could pose a real risk of damage to international perceptions of London as a good place to do business. It is frustrating to see unions call strikes, sometimes on apparently minor issues, that paralyse the daily life of London.”
Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce’s president Tim Cobb said: “It is a ridiculous situation and totally archaic that the Government, unions and the train company can’t sit around a table and sort it out. Everyone is fed up.”
Research by Chichester University has estimated the cost of each day’s
‘Continual industrial action could damage perceptions of London as a good place in which to do business’ Commerce chief Colin Stanbridge
Southern Rail strike on the south coast economy alone at £11 million — a total of £319 million so far — with knock-on effects for London because of commuters arriving late or staying at home.
Simon French, chief economist at City brokers Panmure Gordon, estimated the impact on London of the three-day Southern Rail network shutdown by striking Aslef drivers in January to be £60 million.
If all Tube service disruptions — among them a network-wide shutdown in January — are included, the total is likely to top half a billion pounds.
House prices and rents have been hit in the region served by Southern Rail since the dispute over the role of guards flared up last April. There have also been reports that employers are reluctant to hire workers living in areas affected by the strike.
Today no trains ran at all on some routes, including between Clapham Junction and Milton Keynes Central via Kensington Olympia/Watford Junction. Some services between Eastbourne and Brighton and London Bridge were cancelled.
The situation is not expected to improve on either the Tube or Southern during the day, with passengers COMMUTERS today told of their anger at the latest strikes to hit the capital’s transport network.
The Central line east of Leytonstone was shut due to walkouts by members of the RMT union, forcing workers in Essex to take a bus or taxi.
The strike on the Central line was called as part of a dispute over the “forced” transfer of eight drivers from their home depots in east London to west London.
But Alessandro Ferro, 31, a management consultant from Leytonstone, said: “I’m not very sympathetic for this particular strike because they are moving the depot
facing the same problems getting home again tonight.
Central line operations director Peter McNaught said: “I apologise to customers for the disruption this unnecessary from Essex to Earls Court. It’s ridiculous. It’s a small organisational change which happens in any business.
“The RMT have so much power over the chaos they cause to London. They are holding London to ransom.”
The first westbound Tube train left Leytonstone at 6.30am and queues had already formed outside the ticket hall. Rail replacement buses lined up outside the station as a scrum of people queued to get on board. Trains
strike is causing. We call on the RMT to join us for more talks to resolve this.”
The Tube dispute is over the “forced” transfer of eight drivers from their home depot at Leytonstone to others were departing every 10 minutes towards central London despite warnings that there would be no service, as more drivers came to work than expected.
Photographer Richard Hirst, 28, said: “It’s a bit of a pain. I came from Canada Water on the Jubilee line to Stratford and it was extremely busy. People were packed on like sardines.”
Sam Hustler, 24, an events coordinator from South Woodford, said the strike added an extra hour to his journey to Stratford.
He said: “Last time there was a strike it was a nightmare with people queuing left, right and centre. But it’s much quieter today.”
further afield. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “If LU are allowed to get away with this move on the Central line they will start shunting drivers around at the drop of a hat.”