• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Londoners defy transport strike to hail New Year

Posted on: Sunday, 1 January 2006, 06:49 CST

LONDON (Reuters) - New Year revelers ignored a threatened strike on London's underground rail network and thronged the capital's streets to celebrate the arrival of 2006.

An estimated 200,000 people crowded into central London on Saturday night, police said, 50,000 more than the year before, after a 24-hour strike by the RMT union failed to shut more than a handful of underground stations.

At midnight, crowds cheered a 10-minute firework display launched from the London Eye wheel on the south bank of the River Thames.

London Underground said only 31 of its 275 stations were closed by the strike of station staff, which left trains running on all lines on the network, also known as the Tube.

There had been fears the strike would stop people coming into the center of the capital for the New Year celebrations.

"The Tube strike hardly materialized," said London Mayor Ken Livingstone.

"The majority of London Underground staff did not agree that it made sense to punish ordinary Londoners on New Year's Eve."

The RMT union called the strike over the introduction of new work rosters which it says will reduce safety levels on the underground.

London Underground denies the rotas were unsafe and says there will be no reduction in station staffing.

On Sunday, London continued its celebration of the New Year with a parade through the center of the capital featuring 10,000 performers from around the world.

Source: REUTERS

More News in this Category