London Tube strikes LIVE: All lines affected ahead of rush hour

No. Today is the last day of planned industrial action, with strikes ending at 11.59pm.

TfL has advised Londoners to finish their journeys by 9pm tonight, as services will be even more limited after that.

The Tube is expected to resume a full service tomorrow.

Belinda Ereil, 22, is a barista at Polo Bar on Bishopsgate opposite Liverpool Street station.

She also said takings at the family-owned independent restaurant and cafe were down today.

‘We are always impacted by the Tube strikes, and also the weather,’ she told Metro, pointing outside where heavy gusts and rain is landing on commuters.

‘People usually stop here for breakfast on their way to the offices, but many are working from home this week.

‘Some are also changing their travel and routes, so they might be using a different station or exit and not walk past us.

‘But we have our regulars, and actually most of them have come in today.

‘Deliveries have been busy, I think mainly orders into the offices because of the weather. But the weather also impacts delivery drivers, and there are fewer of them available today. So it all affects us.’

Opera singer Christina Acosta is raising commuters’ spirits at Liverpool Street station.

The soprano’s soothing voice is ringing around the UK’s busiest railway station as it gears up for rush hour.

Between songs, she told Metro the Tube strike wasn’t the main reason she came to the station.

She said: ‘We have specific slots at stations we can use, and today I decided to come here.

‘To be honest, I was a little bit worried if people were going to be in a bad mood because of the strike, but that’s not the case.’

Oyster and contactless card data showed tap-ins across the transport network are at 86% of an equivalent day last year as Londoners battle to get around the capital despite the strike.

Much fewer of those journeys than normal were undertaken on the Tube.

Around 60% of Tube drivers came to work this morning, comparable but slightly up on Tuesday’s number. This included 91% of Jubilee drivers, 80% of Bakerloo drivers and 75% of Metropolitan drivers.

TfL data shows that there has been a 22% increase in cycling during the strike.

Central and inner London’s road network has seen a 10% increase in demand, too.

Oyster and contactless tap data from 10am this morning shows that compared to the equivalent day last year:

• Bus boarding taps are up by around 2% this morning

• London Underground is down 43%

• London Overground is up 12%

• The Elizabeth line is up 18%

• The DLR is up 9%

Saiful Khan, 34, the manager of Boost Juice Bar located next to the Liverpool Street Underground station barriers, said both Tuesday and today have been quieter than on a normal day.

‘Our takings are down around 50% today compared to an average day,’ he told Metro.

He said: ‘But on both days we have planned by not preparing too many ingredients.’

His colleague was meant to be at the shop at 5.30am, but her journey took two and a half hours – more than double its normal length, Saif said.

The juice bar, along with Lola’s cupcakes are partially blocked by crowd control barriers dividing the passenger flow in and out of the station.

Saiful said the barrier, which essentially stops incoming passengers from getting to them, is ‘definitely’ affecting business.

Staff at Lola’s Cupcakes said on Tuesday the barrier was limiting business as incoming Tube passengers couldn’t walk up to them directly.

A points failure at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 has now been resolved.

This means the Elizabeth line between Shenfield and Heathrow Terminal 5 is back up and running, as is the service between Abbey Wood and Heathrow Terminal 4.

Heathrow Express between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5 is also back to normal.

Both lines may be subject to delays following the incident.

A train has struck a tree which was on the railway between Charlton and Woolwich Dockyard.

The tree has now been removed and trains are running again, but services may still be cancelled, severely delayed or revised.

The points failure happened near Heathrow Terminals T2 and T3, blocking some of the lines.

At the moment, National Rail is expecting the major disruption to last until 3.30pm, but as we have seen with previous issues, this could change later on.

And here are the affected routes according to National Rail:

• Elizabeth line – Between Shenfield and Heathrow T5, and between Abbey Wood and Heathrow T4
• Heathrow Express – Between London Paddington and Heathrow T5

It seems that Great Western Railway services are running.

Heathrow Express is warning passengers that it has no services in both directions due to a points failure.

‘Please seek alternative forms of transport to and from Heathrow,’ a travel alert says.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Londoners trying to get around today.

Some commuters have found clever ways to get around Tube delays and busy buses – some have even taken boats along the Thames.

The RB1, RB2, RB4, RB6 and Woolwich Ferry are all operating a good service.

The Tube strike is not the only dispute going on – 300 bus drivers in east London will walk out next week due to a row over fatigue and shift patterns.

Members of Unite the union working for Stagecoach-linked East London Bus & Coach Company will strike between Thursday, June 11 and Sunday, June 14.

This will have an impact on bus routes 8, 25, 205, 425, N8, N25 and N205.

The number 205 between Bow and Oxford Street via Euston station will run every 20 minutes.

Bus route 8 will be reduced to every 12 minutes, while the night buses are expected to have a normal schedule.

Voi has 9,000 e-bikes and thousands of scooters in 10 London boroughs, competing against the likes of Lime, Forest and Bolt.

The firm saw an 85% increase in new riders and a 148% surge in new user registrations during April’s Tube strikes, while total rides jumped 66% compared to an average day.

It said it expects a similar uptick during the June Tube walkouts.

Christina Moe Gjerde, Voi’s northern Europe vice-president, said: ‘Having over doubled our fleet over the past few months, we are rolling out thousands more bikes across London as demand for convenient, affordable travel across continues to grow.’

Ahmed Mir, who works in Java Juice, a shop in Acton Town station, said he had only had a dozen customers from 6am to 11.30m as the RMT strike hit.

He told Metro: ‘It’s usually very busy we have lost hundreds of pounds today. We have had about 12 customers.

‘The owner is very cross about the strike it’s hit us very badly. He has another shop in Northfields station which is closed so no takings at all there.

‘We don’t think it’s fair. The last strike wasn’t so bad but this time it’s been a disaster.’

The RMT has a picket line outside Acton Town station and few services are running.

Roads around Pimlico Underground station remain cordoned off after a stabbing overnight.

A 20-year-old man was found with stab wounds on Lupus Street near the Westminster station. He was taken to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

No arrests have been made and an investigation continues, Met Police said.

A large cordon with a crime scene tent on the road remains in place.

Pimlico station is served by the Victoria line, which currently has minor delays because of the strike, the latest TfL status shows.

Today’s strike will wrap up at 23:59 on the dot, with normal service expected on Friday and the weekend.

However, there are some planned closures and changes coming up on the Underground this weekend.

District line status

• Saturday and Sunday – No service between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway

Piccadilly line

• Saturday and Sunday – No service between Hammersmith and Heathrow/Uxbridge, including during Friday and Saturday Night Tube

There are also some planned changes on Overground routes and buses.

Fewer people are out and about in London today, according to O2’s motion data.

The snapshot captured in some of central London’s busiest areas shows that footfall is down today as the second strike day is almost halfway through.

Here is how the mobile data looks compared to a normal Thursday.

• The City is down by 9%
• King’s Cross is down by 12%
• The West End is down by 5%
• Westminster is down by 11%

A spokesperson for Virgin Media O2 said: ‘The data highlights the continued impact transport disruption can have on central London, with many people once again changing their usual routines and journeys.

‘Whether that’s working from home, travelling at different times or staying local, reliable connectivity helps keep people connected throughout the day.’

E-bikes have become a lifeline for commuters throughout the strikes.

Bike companies like Lime and Forest both reported a surge in usage during the April strike.

However, bikes blocking pavements has become an all too common sight across the capital.

The usual hotspots for badly parked bikes during the strikes – near Cannon Bridge and Westminster – were looking orderly this morning.

With London paralysed by strikes, consultants from The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimate it’ll cost the city £130million.

This is from the loss of working days, though other factors, like fewer people out and about shopping, mean the figure is likely higher.

But experts say the losses may be balanced out by people swapping the Tube for bikes, e-bikes and other types of transport.