Pic:The Piccadilly line strike will last for 48 hours from midday(wp)
Staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Tens of thousands of Londoners face travel misery today when a 48-hour strike on the Piccadilly line begins at midday.
Transport for London confirmed the walk-out would go ahead after last-ditch talks with the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union broke down.
The two-day strike will begin at midday, with a further five-hour walkout set to take place from 8.30pm on Friday.
TfL said there would be no service on the line during the strikes – including Friday’s night Tube - and advised passengers to use buses or alternative Tube lines.
Popular interchange stations including Finsbury Park, King’s Cross St Pancras, Green Park and Hammersmith are likely to be very busy during the strikes. The strike could also affect thousands of football fans heading to Arsenal's EFL cup match against Brentford on Wednesday night.
The Piccadilly line also serves Heathrow Airport, leaving many facing a battle to reach their flights during the strike.
TfL has advised using Heathrow Express and Tfl Rail services to and from Paddington Station, but they are likely to be busy and tickets will need to be booked in advance.
The M4 is expected to be busier from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning, while taxi companies are also expecting an "increased demand”.
Other Tube lines are set to run as normal, but may be more busy. Extra buses will be running, but they are likely to congested.
Buses, London Overground, Great Northern and TfL rail will accept printed Tube tickets during the strike. South Western will accept tickets between Waterloo and Feltham via Hounslow.
The strikes were called in reaction to a breakdown in industrial relations between Transport for London and the RMT union.
Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said: "This dispute is about a comprehensive breakdown in industrial relations over a series of long-running unresolved grievances including the abuse of procedures and failure to implement key safety and operational improvements agreed in the past with the union.”
The two sides met at the conciliation service Acas this week but talks ended without agreement.
Nigel Holness, TfL's director of network operations for London Underground, said: "They have made no attempt to engage with us to try and resolve this dispute.
"We continue to uphold all our commitments following discussions with the RMT earlier in the year and their claims that no progress has been made are totally untrue.
"We are hugely disappointed that customers will suffer three days of disruption for no good reason."
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