TfL Opens Northern Line As RMT Chief Eddie Dempsey Blasts Sadiq Khan

Evening Standard

Transport for London achieved a huge breakthrough in the Tube dispute when it managed to run services on the Northern line.Trains began running on the full length of the line, which extends from High Barnet and Edgware in north London to Morden in the south, from 8am on Tuesday.With the Elizabeth line unaffected by the Tube dispute, this meant that TfL succeeded in opening up key east-west and north-south routes through central London.TfL will aim to open the Northern line again on Thursday – when, like on Tuesday, Tube drivers will not be part of the walkout.Sections of other lines could open on Wednesday, depending on staff turnout, but TfL will continue to prioritise keeping the Elizabeth line open after a record one million journeys were made on the “Lizzie line” on Monday.

Transcript

00:00It's day three of the Tube strike and there's been a huge breakthrough. The Northern Line is

00:05running again. Transport for London was able to reopen the Northern Line along its entire length

00:10unexpectedly between Edgware and High Barnet in the north and Mordaunt in the south. However,

00:18about 90% of the Tube network remained closed and also the DLR was closed for the first time

00:24during this strike. It will be closed both on Tuesday and on Thursday. The strike is expected

00:31to continue until midnight on Thursday with a knock-on impact on Tube services until Friday

00:36morning. On Tuesday afternoon there was a further twist when Eddie Dempsey, the General Secretary of

00:43the RMT, the union that has been taking strike action, hit out at the London Mayor Sadiq Khan saying

00:49it was time for him to invite the union back round the negotiating table.

00:53He is the chairman of Transport for London. If he invites us to a meeting, we will attend

00:59it. So instead of issuing tweets, he should be inviting us to a table and I don't give

01:04him monkeys if it's a pool table, a billiards table or a dinner table.

01:09As things stand though, there seems to be no hope of talks between Transport for London

01:13and the RMT and this dispute looks like it's going to run its course.

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