Tube strikes cause travel chaos in London, find out if you can get a refund on your ticket

Transport for London (TfL) is warning passengers of serious travel disruption across London today as staff go on strike against pension reviews and planned job cuts. The industrial action has 10,000 workers from Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Aslef unions walking out and travellers can expect remaining services to be ‘busier than usual’.

TfL is advising passengers to allow more time for their journey and also warning that some trains will not stop at all stations. The strike will last all day today and could impact services Thursday as services will be recovering, so passengers should check the latest information before travelling.

Tube and Rail Strike

TfL warns on its website that the tube will be most affected with ‘little or no service expected’ and passengers advised to check online before they travel. Service will be late starting on Thursday and there is a National Rail strike by the RMT on the 16th, as per TfL.

London Overground

• Services will be much busier than normal and queuing systems may be in place
• Services are expected to run as normal
• Closure of Tube stations may mean some services will be unable to stop at all stations or run to their normal destination

Elizabeth line

• Services will be much busier than normal and queuing systems may be in place
• No service expected between Paddington and Abbey Wood/Stratford after 22:30
• Closure of Tube stations may mean some services will be unable to stop at all stations or run to their normal destination

DLR and trams are expected to run as normalbut some services will not be able to stop at all stations. There will also be no step free access for the DLR at Bank today but you should be able to use the Monument entrance.

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TfL refund policy

Customers have been venting their anger on Twitter, with many passengers asking how to get a refund on travel passes they have but are unable to use today. However, TfL has been replying that it is not possible to receive a refund for strike action.

It is TfL’s refund policy to not give out refunds for delays outside of their control such as:

• Strikes
• Security alerts
• Bad weather
• Customer incidents e.g. a person falling ill on a train
• Engineering works

Whether they will be back down due to public pressure is yet to be seen but a lot of passengers are unhappy with the travel situation today in London.

Members of the Aslef and RMT unions are striking over pensions and planned changes to staffing but TfL has said no cuts to pensions are planned. The drivers’ strike is the first by Aslef across the whole Underground network in eight years.

The RMT said London Underground Ltd have started to impose 600 station staff job losses and have refused to rule out changes to pensions. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said, as per iNews:

Our members will never accept job losses, attacks on their pensions or changes to working conditions in order to pay for a funding cut which is the Government’s political decision.

Tube workers provide an essential service to the capital, making sure the city can keep moving and work long hours in demanding roles.

In return they deserve decent pensions, job security and good working conditions and RMT will fight tooth and nail to make sure that’s what they get.

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Sources used:

- TfL 'Tube and DLR delays'

- TfL 'Strikes'

- The Guardian 'London hit by 24-hour combined strike by tube drivers and station staff'

- iNews 'When is the Tube strike this week? Full list of London Underground strike dates and if trains are running'