London tube union fights job cuts plan

London Underground’s largest union said it will challenge a plan by the city-owned railway to cut 1,200 jobs and close 144 ticket offices, saying the moves would put riders at risk.

“The job cuts planned for Underground stations would leave passengers dangerously exposed in the event of an emergency and would ratchet up the dangers for the public, particularly women, traveling late at night,” the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said in an email on Wednesday. “RMT will mobilise a campaign to stop these cuts.”

Members of the RMT, which represents around 10,000 employees on the London Underground, are already voting on whether to hold a strike on the railway known as the Tube in a separate dispute over pay. The job reductions are part of the city transportation agency’s plan to cut costs by around £5 billion ($8.15 billion) over 10 years, the union said.

The agency, Transport for London, doesn’t recognise the RMT’s figures on job and ticket-office reductions, though the railway is reviewing staffing, a spokesman said by telephone.

“We are looking at options for how we can provide the best possible service to our customers in the future,” the agency said in an email. “This work is at an early stage and no decisions have yet been made, but we are fully committed to staffing our stations to assist passengers.”

The railway carries 3 million passengers each weekday and has 270 stations.