All Tube Ticket Offices Set For Closure By 2015
But local stations will remain open all weekend
London Underground has announced plans to shut all ticket offices by 2015, with a loss of up to 750 jobs.
It will also run some weekend services for 24 hours, which will bring round-the-clock weekend tube travel to the Wimbledon area.
The Charing Cross branch of the Northern line will be open for 24 hours, along with the Central, Victoria, Picadilly and Jubilee lines. It means Morden, South Wimbledon and Colliers Wood station will be open all weekend. The map is below:
The RMT union has reacted to the news by saying it has not ruled out strike action in the run-up to Christmas over the "lethal" cuts.
TfL says six major central London stations will have special customer points to help tourists and that every station will be staffed while the tube is running, having been moved out of ticket offices into station booking areas.
It is also promising:
- Wi-fi coverage across all below-ground stations
- Disabled access at a further 27 stations
- Contactless bank card payment to make it easier to pay for tickets
- More new trains and updates for stations.
London Underground will now go into a 90-day consultation on its proposals but says there will be no compulsory redundancies and has promised every member of staff who wants a job and who is "ready to be flexible" will have one.
The managing director of London Underground Mike Brown, said: "All Tube stations will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available to customers."
But the RMT has said it would "fight these plans with every tool at our disposal and that includes political, public and industrial campaigning on an unprecedented scale".
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the "proposed cuts will decimate staffing levels and hit the most vulnerable users" of Tube services.
He said: "The mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash a thousand jobs and still run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already been cut to the bone while passenger demand continues to rise."
Richard Tracey, local Assembly Member, added: "The fact that the Northern Line will be open for 24-hours a day from 2015 is fantastic news for my constituents in Wandsworth and Merton.
"This will be a boon for local residents and businesses and everyone from shift workers to clubbers will see a huge benefit. Londoners have been crying out for the tube to run at night, and this shows the benefits of the vast investment in upgrade work that the world’s oldest metro system has seen."
Merton Council's Conservative Transport Spokesman, Councillor Janice Howard said: "This will be a real boost for all those Merton residents who work late shifts in central London's restaurants, theatres and bars or who just want to enjoy a night out. No longer will we have to choose between a long night bus journey or an expensive taxi ride home on Friday and Saturday nights."
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November 21, 2013