London's newest rail service, the Elizabeth Line, is expected to see disruption today (January 12) amid strikes on the network.
The strikes come over pay and pensions disputes with members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Prospect walking out for the day.
Transport for London (TfL) has warned customers to be aware of the travel disruption and added they were doing everything they could to reduce the impact of the strike and were working with operator MTR-Elizabeth line to run as many services as possible.
Ahead of strike action, the TfL said it made a two-year offer of a 4% pay increase for 2022 and 4.4% increase in 2023, describing it as “fair.”
Howard Smith, TfL’s Director of the Elizabeth line, said: “Strikes are bad news for everyone, and we urge the TSSA and Prospect to continue to work with us to avoid industrial action."
TSSA members in the #ElizabethLine are going on strike today. We've not had a pay rise in almost three years - enough is enough.
— TSSA (@TSSAunion) January 12, 2023
Solidarity to everyone out on picket lines today! https://t.co/FmoU0yaaGc
The strikes on the Elizabeth Line mark the first action since it opened in May.
Talks have taken place this week but the strike, as well as action short of a strike, will go ahead.
TSSA members work in roles including traffic managers, service and infrastructure, and incident response managers grades.
TSSA Organiser, Mel Taylor said: “Our members are rightly taking this action because they are not prepared to be pushed around on pay and pensions.
“We know workers at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) are being paid significantly less than equivalent colleagues across the TfL network and that is simply not acceptable.
“Our members have the power to bring the Elizabeth Line to a standstill and that is exactly what will happen as a result of this strike and the lack of a serious offer from TfL."
Is the Elizabeth Line running today?
The Elizabeth Line will see some services be impacted with the line seeing no service throughout the day in the central section of the line between Abbey Wood and Paddington.
Today, Prospect members working on the Elizabeth Line are taking strike action over pay.
— Prospect Union (@ProspectUnion) January 12, 2023
Their colleagues on London Underground and Overground have had pay increases in excess of 8 and 6%, our members have been offered 4%.
We call on TfL to meet with us to find a way forward. pic.twitter.com/GMucAEPbbv
It will also operate as separate railways on the east and west of the line, but passengers were warned there may be short-notice alterations or cancellations.
In the east, between Shenfield and Liverpool Street mainline station, the Elizabeth line will operate a Saturday service of eight trains per hour, with three extra services per hour during the morning and evening peak.
In the west, there will be limited services with two trains per hour running from Paddington to Reading, two trains per hour running from Paddington to Maidenhead, two trains per hour running from Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4 and no services running to Heathrow Terminal 5.
Check the latest service update via the TfL website.
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