Commuters could face major disruption on the Tube tonight in a walkout by maintenance staff.
A 72-hour strike by up to 1,000 workers at Tube Lines responsible for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines was set to start at 4pm.
Also involved in the dispute over pensions and free travel concessions are the Emergency Response Units.
There are the troubleshooters who travel across the network to repair faults — meaning other lines also face disruption.
The RMT union, which ordered the strike, warned disruption could increase with faults, train maintenance and track safety inspections taking longer to complete.
But Tube bosses say they expect the strike not to have any “significant effect” on services and have “practised contingency plans in place” to keep trains running. Train drivers and station staff are not involved in the dispute. The three lines are used by nearly two million passengers a day.
Jon Lamonte, Tube Lines’ chief executive, said of the walkout: “We expect it to have no significant effect on Tube services.
“We have well practised contingency plans in place to ensure that the essential maintenance required on the railway can either go ahead as planned or can be rearranged. We do not and will not put passenger or staff safety at risk.”
