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Night Tube: Good service ran despite strike action, TfL says

EPA Empty Tube escalatorsEPA

The first running of the Night Tube since lockdown caused it to be halted had a "good service" despite strike action, Transport for London (TfL) said.

The transport authority said both the Victoria and Central lines ran throughout the night.

The Central Line ran four trains an hour apart from between White City and Ealing, its usual frequency is six.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) said all its members took action.

A union spokesman added the walk-out was a "great success".

TfL said it had not had a chance to collate the data on how many people used the service.

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The dispute is over TfL's plans to change drivers' rotas which would "wreck work life balance by bulldozing through additional night and weekend working" according to the union.

The Tube strike started across six services on Friday.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said TfL had "ripped up" the previous agreement on Night Tube driving.

"This action was wholly avoidable if London Underground bosses hadn't attempted to bulldoze through arrangements that abolished the Night Tube driver grade, lumping everyone into a central pool where they can be shunted about at will in a drive to cut costs," he said.

The Night Tube, which first began in August 2016 and ran on selected lines on Fridays and Saturdays, was halted when lockdown began last year.

It was the first strike on more than one Tube line since 2018, with the other four affected lines being Piccadilly, Northern, Waterloo & City and Jubilee.

Further disruptions for all six lines are expected over the next three weekends on 3-5 December, 10-12 December and 17-18 December.