January Tube strike talks end with 'no progress'

Commuters have been warned to expect mass station closures on the London Underground after talks to avert an impending strike stalled.

The RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) unions met Tube bosses at conciliation service Acas earlier.

But the talks were adjourned "without any significant moves towards a resolution", according to the RMT.

The dispute centres around ticket office closures.

Transport for London (TfL) warned that the majority of central London Tube stations could be closed if the planned 24-hour strike goes ahead on Sunday.

It said there would be a severely reduced service across the network from 18:00 GMT if the walkout goes ahead.

'Need more staff'

The parties are due to meet again on Friday for further discussions, but both unions said plans for industrial action remained in place.

RMT leader Mick Cash said he expected London Underground to "come back with a radically improved package that fully covers the issues of jobs and safety at the heart of this dispute."

Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, said: "Our negotiating team remains available for further talks throughout the weekend should they become necessary".

TfL said it was committed to addressing recommendations in a recent report by London Travelwatch into the closure of ticket offices and has started working with the unions to review staffing and restore station roles where needed.

Steve Griffiths, London Underground's Chief Operating Officer, said: "It is clear that some more staff for stations are needed. We have started to recruit them and will continue to work with the unions to implement the recommendations made in the review."

TfL said it expected services to be severely reduced on Monday and that there would be no Underground services from stations such as Victoria, King's Cross, Waterloo, Paddington, Euston, Bank and London Bridge.

Piccadilly line services are expected to still run between Hammersmith and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2 and 3, but not to Terminals 4 or 5.

There would be no service at all on the Victoria or Waterloo & City lines, and all other lines were expected to be severely affected with limited services in outer London.

Buses, roads and rail services including the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) are also expected to be much busier than usual.

TfL said it would be deploying Travel Ambassadors in order to help customers get around the city, along with 100 extra buses and "enhanced" river services.