A planned tube strike that was expected to bring most of the London Underground network to a halt on Thursday has been suspended.



Passengers had been warned to expect transport chaos from a 24-hour strike by drivers in the Aslef union. But after a second day of talks at Acas, Transport for London and Aslef appear to have moved close enough to resolving a dispute over work-life balance and rosters to suspend the action

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s organiser on London Underground, said: “We have always been prepared to keep talking to resolve this dispute but Aslef always has, and always will, insist that management stick to agreements they make with us.

“Our ballot remains live and we will not hesitate to call action in the future if needed to ensure all the commitments made are fully delivered.”

However, passengers on South Western Railway are likely to face disruption to services after conductors voted to strike, as the dispute that plagued Southern moves to another major commuter rail network.

The ballot result came while RMT members took strike action on four other rail services across the country in the escalating row over the future of guards on trains – and as separate talks continued in London to avert a tube strike on Thursday.

The union said that First MTR, the company that took over the running of the South Western franchise in August, had failed to give clear, solid assurances on the issue.

The union’s general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “RMT has given repeated opportunities for First MTR to give us the assurances we have sought over the future role of the guards on their trains throughout the length of the new South Western franchise. They have refused to give us those guarantees.

“Our members have now voted overwhelmingly for both strike action and action short of a strike, and that massive mandate will now be considered by RMT’s executive, who will decide the next steps.”



He added: “Guards on South Western have been hailed as ‘legends’ in company publicity material. It is time for First MTR to stand by those legends and to withdraw the threat to throw them off the trains.“

A South Western Railway spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that some of our staff have chosen to vote for industrial action. None of us want to be in this position and any potential action will cause unnecessary disruption for the customers we serve.



“We have been clear that we plan to retain a second person on our services, as we know that our passengers value the assurance and assistance a second member of on-board staff provides. That’s why, during our franchise, we will increase the numbers of drivers and guards so we can deliver more services for passengers.”



Why are British rail workers striking? Many train services have been operated by a driver and a guard, with the latter responsible for aspects of safety including closing train doors. The government has demanded train operators cut the cost of travel, while commissioning more trains that only require a driver to run. Unions fear guard jobs will be lost and drivers believe the changes have safety implications. Southern has so far kept a staff member on trains but with reduced responsibilities. Merseyrail plans to run trains without guards from 2020. Others are likely to follow suit unless, as unions hope, strikes change their minds.

South Western is the UK’s biggest operator outside the combined Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern franchise, serving 230m passenger journeys last year, including all trains to London Waterloo, the UK’s busiest station.

Cash said strike action on four other rail services – Northern,‎ Southern, Merseyrail and Greater Anglia – was “rock solid”. Southern and Greater Anglia said they planned to run a full, normal service, despite the strikes, although Northern and Merseyrail trains have been disrupted.



The Rail Delivery Group, which speaks for train operators, condemned the action as “needless and opportunistic”.

Chief executive Paul Plummer said: “Passengers, communities and Britain want rail companies working together to deliver a long-term plan to improve services, not needless and opportunistic attempts to disrupt lives and the economy as we have seen across the north today.”















