Public transport shutdown set to hit London’s construction sites

Transport for London is dramatically scaling back its services amid a tightening of measures to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The move is set to have huge implications for the capital’s construction sites with many workers using London buses and the Tube to get to jobs.

Announcing the move late last night, TfL said from today (Thursday) up to 40 London Underground stations that do not interchange with other lines will be closed until further notice.

In other moves, there will be no Waterloo & City line tomorrow (Friday) while London buses will run fewer services

In a statement, TfL added: “From Monday 23 March, TfL will gradually reduce the frequency of other services across the TfL network to provide a service for critical workers to get to where they need to - ensuring that remaining services are not overcrowded.

”TfL is aiming to run Tube trains every four minutes in Zone 1, with the possibility that this will reduce further.

“Similarly, from next week until further notice, London Overground, TfL Rail, the DLR and London Trams will run fewer services.

“On the bus network, from Monday 23 March until further notice, a service similar to a Saturday will run. TfL’s extensive night bus network will continue, to provide critical workers with a reliable night option.”

And it warned that the measures could be tightened up further: “Although these are the services TfL plans to run, if fewer staff are available further measures may be needed.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “People should not be travelling, by any means, unless they really, really have to. Londoners should be avoiding social interaction unless absolutely necessary, and that means they should be avoiding using the transport network unless absolutely necessary.”

Prime minister Boris Johnson said the virus was spreading faster in the capital than anywhere else. There have been more than 900 confirmed cases of coronavirus in London and 34 people have died.

The number of coronavirus cases in the UK jumped by 676 yesterday to 2,626 with the number of deaths on Wednesday standing at 104.