TUNNEL VISION

With Tube drivers set to receive inflation busting £80,000 salaries to avert strike action, there are renewed calls for automation of the London Underground

- By Adam Toms

WHEN the world's first underground railway opened between Paddington and Farringdon on January 10, 1863, it sparked a revolution in travel. The brainchild of lawyer Charles Pearson, the Metropolitan Line had faced opposition from Parliament who believed people would not dream of venturing below ground to go to work.

How wrong they were: on the first day alone, 38,000 passengers travelled on the line pulled by steam trains. Today part of London Underground, the world's oldest subterranean line still carries millions of passengers every month.

But while the network continues to grow, so do its problems, and none is more pressing than the impact of strike action two words to set fear into any Londoner. The most recent five-day walkout was said to have cost the British economy an eye watering £230million meaning it's not just capital-dwellers who are impacted, it affects everyone.

But what has enraged out-of-pocket businesses and commuters even more are new reports that Tube drivers have been offered inflation-busting salaries of £80,000 a year to prevent further strike action. Under the deal, first reported by the London Evening Standard, a Tube driver's basic salary will rise from £71,170 to a minimum of £77,692 by April 2027. That would be even higher if inflation remains above 3%.

A TfL spokesperson said it had "improved our offer to one that gives financial certainty to all Tube staff over the next three years while also remaining affordable".

The decision has renewed calls for fully automated trains to replace entitled employees. But could this become reality?