Happy biiirthday to yooo.. oh.
The Elizabeth line is due to be heavily affected by strike action on 24 May — exactly one year since it opened to the public.
Dozens of members of the TSSA union — including traffic managers, service and infrastructure personnel, and incident response managers — will strike on the anniversary (and be in no doubt that date is no coincidence), meaning that the central section of the line between Paddington and Abbey Wood will be heavily affected.
Says TSSA Organising Director, Mel Taylor: "Elizabeth line staff work weekends, nights and even Christmas Day, operating the world's only fully digital railway, but many earn less than two thirds of the salary paid to other TfL staff in similar roles. Our members don't want to have to take strike action, but they’ve had enough."
Action short of a strike i.e. an overtime ban and removal of good will will then run from 27 May to 4 June.
Although the Elizabeth line — already the UK's busiest railway — is a mere stripling, this is not the first strike action it's seen; back in January, action was taken by TSSA and Prospect union members.
Meanwhile, in May and June, other strike action will be taken by ASLEF Union and the RMT, causing disruption across London and the rest of the UK on 31 May and 3 June.
On 21 May, the Elizabeth line hits phase 3, meaning trains that are more frequent and faster — plus a new direct route.
