There will be a strike on the Elizabeth line this coming Thursday (12th Jan) which will close the central section of the railway.
As the strike mainly affects managers who look after the central core tunnel section of the Elizabeth line, TfL is warning that there won’t be any services at all between Paddington and Abbey Wood all day Thursday.
There will also be no service before 7:30am on Friday, and normal service will be resumed by around 9am.
Elizabeth line services on the National Rail ends, between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, and between Paddington to Heathrow/Reading will run a limited service.
In the east, between Shenfield and Liverpool Street mainline station, the Elizabeth line will operate a Saturday service of eight trains per hour, with three extra services per hour during the morning and evening peak. In the west there will be limited services, with two trains per hour running from Paddington to Reading, two trains per hour running from Paddington to Maidenhead, two trains per hour running from Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4 and no services running to Heathrow Terminal 5.
The union says that the dispute is over pay and proposed changes to pensions.
The union says that the walkouts by staff at Rail for London (Infrastructure) Limited follows a ballot in which members voted 90% in favour of strike action and 95% in favour of action short of strike on an 80% turnout – comfortably passing the legal threshold required for industrial action.
TSSA members have already rejected a 4 per cent pay rise for this year and 4.4 per cent for next year.
Howard Smith, TfL’s Director of the Elizabeth line, said: “Strikes are bad news for everyone, and we urge the TSSA and Prospect to continue to work with us to avoid industrial action. These strikes will have a detrimental effect during a time where we are encouraging customers back on to trains into central London, in which the Elizabeth line has played a leading role.”
Elizabeth line staff employed by RfLI and members of the Prospect Union have also voted for strike action.
From Friday 13th January until Tuesday 28th February, Elizabeth line services could be subject to short notice changes or cancellations due to the industrial action.
