Tube commuters face more delays as engineers begin industrial action

Tube strike: Night Tube delayed but strikes still set to go ahead

13 August

The Night Tube service due to be introduced next month is being delayed following talks aimed at averting Tube strikes planned for later this month.

The 24-hour weekend service was scheduled to begin on the Jubilee, Victoria and most of the Piccadilly, Central and Northern lines on 12 September, but has now been pushed back, the BBC reports. The strikes are currently still scheduled to go ahead, but further negotiations between London Underground and the three unions taking part are scheduled to take place later this week. Tube staff are set to walk out from 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 August and again from 6.30pm on Thursday 27 August. However, drivers will no longer be taking part in the walkout. Widespread disruption is still expected for most of the week leading up to the August bank holiday, when RMT members have planned a strike on First Great Western services.London's commuters and tourists have already had to cope with two Tube strikes in the past month, one in July and one earlier this month. London Underground claims that unions are demanding more money but employees say they are fighting to protect their work-life balance when the 24-hour service begins. During the last strike, London Mayor Boris Johnson said he was "not fussed" about the service launching on time and did not want to get into "a staring match" with unions. Len Duvall, leader of the London Assembly Labour group, told the Daily Telegraph the delay had not come as a surprise.

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"I hope [it] will provide the breathing space necessary for unions and management to sit down and negotiate a resolution to this dispute without the need for further disruption to passengers," he said.