London Underground Was On Strike

History begins with London Underground Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway passenger transport in the world. Metropolitan Railway began operation on 10 January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon stations. The line was gradually extended, reaching as in 1880 to carry more than 40 million travelers annually. Metropolitan Railway has evolved into what today is known as the Metropolitan Line.

This line tunnels were built by digging ditches and filling them to the surface, is due to shallow. Due to technical advances in the 1880s could go to dig tunnels deep sea, so called “tube”. Also the first line, City & South London Railway was opened in 1890. Today, it is part of the Northern Line. Other lines have followed in subsequent years.

Immediately after the inauguration of the Metropolitan Railway was passed in the construction of other lines, which today form the District Line, Hammersmith & City Line and East London Line. In 1884 construction was completed and “circle” that circles the central area of London’s Circle Line today.

Each line was operated by a different company, which produced enough inconvenience, passengers are forced to come out to change one line to another. American tycoon Charles Yerkes bought most of these companies, consolidating them into one called London Underground Electric Railways Company Ltd, on April 9, 1902.

Since 2000, London Underground is owned and management company in London’s largest public transport, Transport for London (TfL). Underground lines were partially privatized in 2003 through a public-private partnership between TfL and two consortia of firms, respectively MetroNET Tube Lines. The partnership aims primarily to track the total refurbishment, installations signaling stations and train set on all 12 subway lines. The investment is huge (tens of billions of pounds), and renovation is expected to be completed in 2020s.

The first strike of the London Underground after more than a year began on Monday evening, while the buses were available, additional trips on the Thames, taxis and bicycles to avoid traffic disruption, London Underground staff are to strike.

Up to 10,000 Metro employees are called by their unions to strike for 24 hours, starting Monday, local time 17:00, to protest a plan of 800 deletion jobs, mainly aimed at employees desks.

RMT and TSSA, two unions in the railway and other transport employees were asked in late August to Metro employees to organize a first strike for 24 hours, followed by other business interruption from October 3, November 2 and November 28 .

“Londoners are strong people and I am sure we will strike at the subway stop to travel,” said London’s Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson, who recently implemented a system similar to that implemented bike rental in Paris. “Boris bikes,” as newspapers called them, would be used in full mode during the strike, the municipality hopes.

Transport for London (TfL), directed by London’s public transport, subject to the City of London, has provided 100 additional buses and 10,000 additional trips on the River Thames.

According to Chamber of Commerce and Industry in London, every day work stoppage in the subway would cost the city economy 48 million pounds (58 million euros).

Metro normally provides 3.5 million trips each day, according to TfL. Strikes are a rare event in this sector since 2004 no longer had made only one strike in 2009.

Since last night not move any furniture lines Circle, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo. Traffic is partially suspended the remaining lines, including the central area, where Metros arrive at stations with very long delays. It moved almost normally only two lines.
More than 3.5 million people use London’s subway system daily and the walk-out left all but one of the city’s 11 Underground lines shut or partly suspended. Commuters were forced to take jam-packed buses, pay for taxis, ride bicycles, use boat services along the River Thames or simply walk to work.

At London Bridge station, Kirbal Singh, 33, told msnbc.com how his usually straightforward 30-minute commute had turned into a two-and-a-half-hour ordeal involving a two separate trains and a bus.

The industrial action was in protest over 800 planned job cuts, mostly among station staff. But Transport for London, which runs the network – famously known as the Tube – says there will be no compulsory layoffs.

Shams Selahaddin, 37, who moved to London from Afghanistan 18 years ago, was waiting to pick up a passenger outside an apartment building in Borough, south London, on Tuesday morning.

“Everybody keeps calling this morning,” the driver for a private car service said. “But we can’t take any more people – we’re completely booked!”

However, most commuters had little sympathy for the striking workers on Tuesday. The London Chamber of Commerce estimated each day the Tube is shut down costs capital’s economy 48 million pounds ($73.7 million dollars).11