Here’s How To Get Around London During This Weekend’s Tube Strike

Though TfL services are beginning to return to normal, with the Night Tube (technically) up and running and the Night Overground following this weekend, there’s still disruption on the horizon. RMT Union members voted in favour of strike action earlier this year, as a result of concerns over changes to Night Tube contracts, which they argue would disrupt the work-life balance of drivers. Now, after weeks of delays on the returned night tube services, we’ve now got to brace for another multi-line strike this weekend, starting at 8:30pm on Friday, December 17 with action on the Victoria and Central lines, and from 4:30am on Saturday, December 18, which affects those two lines along with the Jubilee, Northern, and Piccadilly lines. Here’s all the info you need to know about the Tube strike, and how to navigate your way across town today, with Secret London’s handy Tube strike guide.

Which lines are affected by the Tube strike?

Five lines are affected by the strike, with the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Victoria, and Piccadilly all seeing various levels of disruption. Between 8:30pm tonight (Friday, December 17) and 4:29am in the morning on Saturday, December 18, there will be a reduced service on the Central line and Victoria line, with potentially no service in some places. From 4:30am on Saturday until 4:29am on Sunday, December 19, there will also be little to no service on the Jubilee, Piccadilly, and Northern lines, until all lines return to action that morning.

Which Tube lines are running on Saturday December 18?

The Waterloo & City line is suspended (not as part of the strike), but the remainder of the Tube lines – that’s the District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Circle, and Bakerloo lines – are running a normal service. However, they’re going to be busy than usual to cope with the influx of passengers from the other lines, particularly in central London, and particularly at stations that also serve the Piccadilly and Central lines, as both these are closed in the centre of town. Meanwhile, both the DLR and London Trams are running normal services.

Are Overground services affected by the strike?

No. All Overground lines are running as normal, but as with the other Tube lines, you can expect them to be busier than usual.

Are the buses running?

Yes, but they’re likely to be busier that usual as the closure of five Tube lines pushes more passengers onto alternative means of transport. You can refer to TfL’s bus status page to check the latest updates on London buses, or find the info from the TfL Go app.

How else can I get around London?

The Santander Cycles are available for hire as usual, although strike action tends to push their ridership to higher levels than normal, so be warned it might be a little trickier than usual to grab a bike.

If you’re relying on the power of walking to get around, you can refer to this handy map, which shows the number of steps between each Tube station.

Finally, London’s fleet of black cabs and ride-hailing services are all options for you, though I suspect there might be some surge pricing happening on the apps as demand for rides increase. Good luck out there!

Also published on Medium.