Transport for London

London Underground Service Update - 2000hrs
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date 31 December 2005
source Transport for London
type Press release

Read LU's statement on the RMT strike

The RMT strike has had little impact on London Underground's services this evening. The majority of station staff have ignored the call for industrial action and are working normally. Of the 275 stations served by London Underground, 244 remain open and 31 are currently closed due to the non-availability of staff.

London Underground is running good services on all lines with only minor delays on the following:

o District line - part suspended Earl's Court to Kensington (Olympia) due to a signal failure at Earl's Court
o Northern line - due to non-availability of staff

At King's Cross Station, the Metropolitan Line platforms remain open. All other platforms are closed. The Bakerloo part of the Edgware Road Station is closed.

TfL will have an extra 100 buses, including a number of bendy-buses capable of carrying 140 passengers, running on night bus routes in addition to the normal New Years Eve services.

A Transport for London spokesman said: "Over 90 percent of our stations are open and we will continue to run services where it is safe to do so. So far the strike is having little impact on services and London Underground is running full services on all lines except the Northern Line where there are some delays. We expect to provide services throughout the evening and night. We expect to be able to provide service on all lines."

"TfL has added a further 100 buses to our planned services tonight to help get people home safely. These include a number of bendy-buses which can carry 140 people at one time."

"Before they travel, passengers should check the TfL website, local radio and television travel bulletins or call 020 7222 1234 for up to the minute travel information.

"Given the possibility of disruption, and the very cold weather, we strongly recommend that passengers plan their journey carefully in advance so that they know how to get home using an alternative route if necessary."

Further information on specific alternative services:

o Buses
A Saturday service will run on the buses and from 1930 buses will be progressively withdrawn from central London as roads are closed in the West End and Waterloo areas. Buses will return to their normal routes between 0300 and 0400 as roads are re-opened.
Outside central London all 24 hour bus routes will run as normal supplemented by a further 40 'day' routes which will operate throughout the night to connect with National Rail and other strategic locations.
o DLR
The DLR will run a Saturday service with a limited overnight service into Sunday morning.
o National Rail
On National Rail, services will operate to an amended Saturday timetable and many routes will have additional departures between midnight and 0200.
o Black cabs and minicabs
We also recommend that passengers only use licensed black cabs or minicab firms. You can text HOME to 60835 to receive the number of a local TfL licensed minicab firm or call 0871 871 8710 to book a black cab.
o Travel will still be free on the Tube, buses, DLR and tram services from 2345 until 0430.
For 24-hour information on public transport in London, please call: 020 7222 1234.

TfL's Realtime pages display live travel information on London's public transport network: www.tfl.gov.uk/realtime

Journey Planner checks the transport network's status before providing results. The best available route is shown automatically: www.tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner

Travel alerts via SMS and email can be set up at: www.tfl.gov.uk/alerts

Railhub Archive ::: 2005-12-31 TfL-001