London Faces Days of Gridlock as Tube Workers Launch Four-Day Strike
by Jaffa Levy
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LONDON — London is bracing for days of severe disruption on the Underground as members of the RMT union prepare a rolling walkout that is expected to halt most Tube services for four consecutive weekdays, with only limited trains resuming early Friday.
The action follows months of talks over pay, fatigue, and shift patterns. Transport for London has warned that, while some services outside the Tube network will run, stations and platforms across the capital are likely to face heavy crowding throughout the week.
Scope of the Walkout
The strike escalates in phases, culminating in a near-total shutdown of Underground services from Monday through Thursday, with a partial return from early Friday morning. The Docklands Light Railway will also be affected on selected days in a separate dispute, while the Elizabeth line, London Overground and buses are due to operate but are expected to be extremely busy.
Union Demands and TfL’s Position
RMT says staff are working under “extreme” rosters and long, irregular hours and is pressing to reduce the standard working week from 35 to 32 hours as part of a broader fatigue-management package. TfL has offered a pay rise in line with rail-industry settlements and argues that cutting contracted hours would be unaffordable and operationally unworkable at current staffing levels.
Train-driver settlements elsewhere on the network have set a ceiling for pay this year, but the Underground dispute has hardened around hours and rostering — not just headline pay — leaving the sides far apart even as the strike window approaches.
Mayor Khan’s Balancing Act
Mayor Sadiq Khan, who chairs TfL, has faced pressure to avert stoppages while steering the transport authority through tight post-pandemic finances. City Hall has emphasized support for a negotiated settlement but has backed TfL’s view that a blanket reduction in contracted hours would carry significant cost and service implications.
What Commuters Can Expect
TfL advises passengers to check live updates before traveling, allow extra time, and, where possible, work remotely or switch to walking and cycling for short journeys. Road congestion is likely to worsen on strike days, and rail interchanges serving the Elizabeth line and Overground may see crowd-control measures during the morning and evening peaks.
What to Watch
Any late movement would likely center on rostering and rest-day protections rather than an immediate cut to a 32-hour week. Absent a compromise on fatigue measures, London faces one of its most disruptive transport weeks in years — a test of the unions’ leverage, TfL’s finances, and the Mayor’s ability to keep the city moving.
