People advised not to travel ahead of disruption across TfL and national rail services

Transport for London (TfL) is strongly encouraging people not to travel on Tuesday June 21 and until mid-morning on Wednesday June 22, unless absolutely necessary, due to planned industrial action being taken by the RMT and Unite unions.

This comes ahead of a week of travel disruption across the country, which will impact London Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line services between June 21-26.

If customers cannot avoid travelling on June 21, they should expect severe disruption across the transport network, plan ahead and leave more time for journeys. They should complete journeys by 6pm, with Elizabeth line customers travelling between Paddington and Reading, and Shenfield and Liverpool Street advised to complete their journeys by 4pm. Customers are encouraged to avoid making journeys on June 22 until mid-morning.

An enhanced bus service will run during the strike period but will be very busy, with queues expected. Customers are encouraged to walk and cycle if they can.

For the latest information on how TfL services are operating, customers should use TfL’s real-time travel tools, including status updates, Journey Planner and TfL Go. Travel advice for the strike action is available at tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike.

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Andy Lord, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “I want to apologise to our customers for the impact these strikes will have on their journeys and urge people to avoid travel on all TfL services on June 21 unless absolutely necessary. If they are travelling, they must complete journeys by 6pm, and expect disruption across the network. Walking and cycling is likely to be the best way to get around during this action.

“The strike on the London Underground has been timed by the RMT and Unite unions to cause maximum disruption to our millions of customers by coinciding with strike action on national rail services.

“Additional strikes on national rail services will also have an impact on London Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line services because of shared track and assets. TfL customers are therefore advised to plan ahead and leave more time for their journeys this week.

“This strike is particularly frustrating as it comes so soon after industrial action earlier this month, no changes have been proposed to pensions and nobody has or will lose their job as a result of the proposals we have set out. We’re urging the RMT and Unite to call off this strike – my message to them is that it’s not too late to work with us to find a resolution and avoid the huge disruption this action will cause.”

Ruth Duston, CEO of London HQ and MD of Primera Corp, leads a portfolio of 13 central London business districts and collectively represents the interests of several thousand businesses, from SMEs to FTSE constituents.

She has every member of the FTSE 100 represented within her portfolio and is representing their interests this week as the impact of the train and tube strikes hit businesses across the UK.

Ruth commented: “The three day strike in March this year, which was of a smaller scale, saw footfall in London drop by up to 80 percent in some busy central areas like Whitehall. On that basis alone we can forecast that this week’s will have a more significant impact across the city.

“It is most likely to be felt by the businesses catering to commuters, such as the hospitality and leisure sector, who are already experiencing a number of challenges such as increased costs, rising inflation and a customer base splitting time between the office and working remotely.”

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