Rail services on some of London’s busiest commuter routes have been brought to a standstill as drivers launch a fresh strike in a near two-year long pay dispute.
Members of Aslef at operators including those running services into the capital such as Southern, Southeastern and South Western Railway are walking out for the day. Affected operators are running no trains on the vast majority of the network.
Strikes will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at different operators, while drivers are also banning overtime until Saturday which is also causing disruption.
Passengers are being urged to check before attempting to travel by train this week.
Operators hit by today’s strike include Greater Anglia, Thameslink and Southern (including Gatwick Express), Southeastern, South Western Railway, c2c and GTR’s Great Northern.
Meanwhile the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at the Dartford crossing was closed on Tuesday morning due to a “police incident”. The bridge was shut for more than an hour causing long delays on the M25.
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In pictures: Aslef strikers at Waterloo, Guildford and Orpington this morning:
What has the Department for Transport said?
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The Transport Secretary and rail minister have already facilitated a pay offer that would take train drivers' average salaries up to £65,000 - almost twice the UK average salary.
"Aslef are the only union left striking after the Government oversaw deals with all the other unions.
"Instead of causing passengers disruption, they should put this offer to their members and work with industry to end this dispute."
What has the Rail Delivery Group said about today's strikes?
A spokesman for the RDG said: "The rail industry is working hard to keep trains running but it is likely that services on some lines will be affected on the evening before and morning after each strike between May 7 and May 9 because many trains will not be in the right depots to start services the following day.
"We can only apologise to our customers for this wholly unnecessary strike action called by the Aslef leadership which will sadly disrupt journeys once again.
"It will also inflict further damage on an industry that is receiving up to an additional £54 million a week in taxpayer cash to keep services running, following the Covid downturn."
At a glance: What you need to know about affected services today?
- No Gatwick Express services
- No Great Northern trains
- No c2c trains
- No Southern services - except a limited shuttle between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport
- No Thameslink trains - except a limited shuttle stopping at Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras as well as a shuttle between London Kings Cross and Cambridge
- Extremely limited South Western Railway service - only travel if absolutely necessary
- Extremely limited Southeastern service - only travel if absolutely necessary
- Reduced train service on Greater Anglia
Minor delays to Northern line
There are currently minor delays due to a shortage of trains.
Severe delays to Metropolitan line
The Metropolitan line was part suspended, but is now severely delayed between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham / Chesham / Watford / Uxbridge due to an earlier points failure at Rickmansworth.
Hammersmith and City line part suspended
There is currently no service between Liverpool Street and Barking while TfL fixes a faulty train at Plaistow.
Circle line delays now severe
There are currently severe delays due to an earlier faulty train at Edgware Road.
District line part suspended
There is currently no service between Barking and Upminster while TfL fixes a faulty train at Plaistow.
How are Aslef strikes impacting Gatwick Express trains?
No Gatwick Express service will run today.
Southern trains will call additionally at Clapham Junction and East Croydon to help customers with their journey.