Managers not safe to run Tube, says union leader Bob Crow

PASSENGER safety could be put at risk by a decision to use undertrained staff during a Tube strike, union leaders warned last night.

Thousands of members of the RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) are set to strike for 24 hours tomorrow in a row over 800 job cuts.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said: "We have been leaked information that managers have been given two days' training on key deep safety and emergency procedures that the regulations say require six weeks of intensive instruction.

He added: "Instead of playing dangerous games down the deep tube tunnels the managers responsible for this lethal gamble with safety should be engaging in proper talks with the unions to resolve the issues at the heart of this dispute."

Nobody from Transport for London (TfL) was available for comment.

Transport bosses are laying on more than 100 extra buses, increasing capacity for more than 10,000 more journeys on the river, organising marshalled taxi ranks and delaying or curtailing planned roadworks.

Volunteers will also be positioned at Tube, bus and rail stations to help commuters.

TfL said London Underground ran a third of services during a walkout last month, carrying more than a million people.