London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jan 16, 2026

Tube strike causes travel 'chaos' for commuters returning to work after Platinum Jubilee weekend

Tube strike causes travel 'chaos' for commuters returning to work after Platinum Jubilee weekend

London Underground advised people not to travel, warning of severe disruption across the network from the start of service on Monday until 8am on Tuesday.

People returning to work following the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend have faced travel "chaos" as a Tube strike caused major disruption.

London Underground has advised people not to travel, warning of a severe impact on the network from the start of service on Monday until 8am on Tuesday.

Some 4,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are taking part in industrial action in a dispute over jobs and pensions.

The 24-hour walkout has caused problems for passengers across the network on the first working day after Platinum Jubilee celebrations over the four-day weekend.

Transport for London (TfL) said some train services will run but many stations, especially those in central and south London, will be closed, while others may only open for limited periods.

"Buses, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and Trams are not affected by the industrial action and are running normally. However, they are busier than usual," TfL tweeted.

Downing Street condemned the "deeply disappointing" strike action on the London Underground.

"This sort of action is deeply disappointing and not what the public want to see, not what we want to see for businesses still trying to recover post-pandemic, people's lives being disrupted in London," the prime minister's official spokesman said.

"Obviously industrial relations at TfL (Transport for London) are a matter for TfL and the mayor but it's clear that under the current funding settlement TfL must take all reasonable steps to avoid industrial action."

Construction worker Miguel Basantes was stuck at Paddington station while trying to get to work in Hampstead.

The 54-year-old said the situation was "chaos".

He added: "In Liverpool Street there were crowds of people and I was waiting for 20 or 30 minutes.

"I don't know how to get to work."

Indian restaurant worker Kundan Darla, 25, said: "I think it is bad, I am too late for work."

Meanwhile, droves of frustrated passengers gathered around the entrance to Waterloo station.

In a domino effect, the strike has caused delays on London's roads, affecting private cars, commercial vehicles and buses.

People waiting at a bus stop in Paddington


The level of road congestion was 71% at 8am, up from 64% a fortnight earlier, according to location technology firm TomTom.

The figures represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions.

Transport for London (TfL) said no plans have been tabled on pensions or terms and conditions, insisting that no one will lose their jobs because of the proposals it has set out.

As part of previous funding agreements, the government has required TfL to work towards achieving financial sustainability on its operations by April 2023.

TfL has proposed not recruiting into around 500 to 600 posts as they become vacant.

There were long queues for London buses


The RMT said that, under current proposals, working agreements will be torn up and the looming threat to pensions remains in place.

General secretary Mick Lynch said: "We are demanding a direct face-to-face meeting with mayor Sadiq Khan to sort this mess out.

"There's no point in our union continuing to sit opposite management representatives who have neither the inclination nor the authority to negotiate a settlement, when the power lies with the mayor."

RMT members on the Tube are also taking action short of a strike, meaning station staff might not work overtime, until Sunday 10 July, which may result in short notice station closures.

Elsewhere, half-term holidaymakers have faced more travel disruption after the jubilee weekend with British travellers stranded abroad due to flight cancellations.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
×