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Tube unions have been left red-faced as their strike by maintenance workers struggles to have any impact on services. With just hours left of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union's 48 hour stoppage, Transport for London bosses insist there was no disruption to Tube services again today and lines were running normally. Despite losing a legal challenge to the industrial action, TfL have seen a negligible impact in the loss of two nights worth of maintenance work by Tube Lines staff - that can also be put down to luck given TL staff run the Emergency Response Unit that deals with urgent repairs that keep the system running and there were no call outs. However, another 48-hour strike is planned next month unless the dispute is resolved and London commuters may not be so lucky next time. A TfL spokesman said: "After running a good service, with no significant disruption on the first day of industrial action by RMT maintenance workers employed by Tube Lines, Tube services are again operating as normal this morning." The company rubbished claims by the RMT that the industrial action had caused delays on the District, Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines because signal faults were left unrepaired and drivers were refusing to move trains due to safety reasons. Tube Lines work is being taken over by TfL at the end of the month but the RMT said it has concerns over jobs, pay and conditions. RMT leader Bob Crow said: "Rather than wasting money on bogus legal challenges and an army of PR runners and strike-breakers it would make far more sense for the mayor and his managers to get back round the table with RMT and resolve this dispute." In another blow to the RMT strategy this week, coordinated strike action on the Docklands Light Rail system was called off following a new pay offer.
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