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All-night Tube service may be delayed | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The launch date for the London Underground (LU) Night Tube may be delayed, the BBC understands. | |
The 24-hour weekend service on the Jubilee, Victoria and most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines was due to start on 12 September. | The 24-hour weekend service on the Jubilee, Victoria and most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines was due to start on 12 September. |
Members of four unions took strike action on 6 August and 8 July in the dispute over the Night Tube proposals. | Members of four unions took strike action on 6 August and 8 July in the dispute over the Night Tube proposals. |
LU denied it was delaying the start date, insisting it was "operationally ready". | |
However, LU added the service would not be launched "at any cost". | |
Three unions have announced two 24-hour walkouts for 25 and 27 August. | |
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite members announced on Tuesday their members would walk out for 24 hours from 18:30 BST on those days. | |
Talks were held at the conciliation service Acas in a bid to avert further strike action. | |
A further meeting between the train drivers' union Aslef and LU is expected later this week. | |
Unions are unhappy at conditions offered to drivers working on the Night Tube service. | |
By Richard Westcott, BBC transport correspondent | |
The Tube strike's getting a bit confusing so to try to clear things up a little... | |
Despite rumours, drivers' union Aslef has not done a deal with London Underground. My understanding is they are not a million miles away and it could happen in talks due on Friday, or next week. - but it's not definite and they still have the option to join the strike. | |
We're hearing the 12 September start date for 24-hour Tubes may be put back a bit, to create some breathing space to sort this out. But officially London Underground says it's still aiming for the 12 September, although "not at any cost". | |
Does any of this make a difference? | |
Well, even if Aslef did not join in, the fact the RMT is striking guarantees major disruption. They control maybe 35% of drivers, plus station staff, signallers and engineers. Plus there's the fact that many drivers would not cross a picket line. | |
As for the start date, London Mayor Boris Johnson seems easy about it slipping if it helps the talks - but not for too long. | |
In a nutshell then, the strikes are still on and will still cause "travel chaos" as us journalists like to say. | |
During the last strike on 6 August, London Mayor Boris Johnson said he was "not fussed" about the night service starting on 12 September as planned, as long as it started in the autumn. | |
Len Duvall, leader of the London Assembly Labour group, said: "By speculatively announcing a start date without any consultation with the people expected to run the service, Boris Johnson's gung-ho approach has led to disputes, disruption and now delay." | Len Duvall, leader of the London Assembly Labour group, said: "By speculatively announcing a start date without any consultation with the people expected to run the service, Boris Johnson's gung-ho approach has led to disputes, disruption and now delay." |
He said he hoped a delay would provide "breathing space" for the unions and management to resolve the dispute. | |
In September 2014, Transport for London (TfL) announced the Night Tube would run on Fridays and Saturdays with six trains per hour through central London on five Tube lines. | In September 2014, Transport for London (TfL) announced the Night Tube would run on Fridays and Saturdays with six trains per hour through central London on five Tube lines. |
On the Northern Line, there would have been eight trains an hour to meet demand at busy stations between Leicester Square and Camden Town, TfL said. | |
The Night Tube was part of a long-term economic plan. Chancellor George Osborne and Mr Johnson said it would add £6.4bn to the London economy by 2030 and create half a million new jobs. | |
It was also announced in February the night-time services would be extended to the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines by 2021 and extended to the London Overground in 2017 and the Docklands Light Railway by 2021. | It was also announced in February the night-time services would be extended to the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines by 2021 and extended to the London Overground in 2017 and the Docklands Light Railway by 2021. |