ANOTHER London Underground strike is set to go ahead on Sunday evening and Monday, with no sign of new peace moves between the rail unions and Transport for London.

The RMT and TSSA are protesting mainly about job losses, but the RMT is also opposing plans to carry out routine maintenance of Underground trains less frequently.

Talks at the conciliation service Acas have so far failed to resolve the dispute, and Transport for London said the unions had refused to attend further discussions which had been scheduled for Friday 24 September

The RMT said it would not return to negotiations until TfL withdrew its plans to cut 800 jobs, most of which are at suburban stations. TfL wants to reduce the opening hours of ticket offices at quieter stations, because it says most journeys are now made with smartcards.

But the conflict has taken a new twist, with the release by the RMT of a picture of worn brake blocks on an Underground train. London Underground is experimenting with a new schedule which will double the period between brake inspections on trains from 14 to 28 days, saying that the interval has not been changed for many years and that it is time for a re-evaluation.

The RMT claimed that ‘if the current schedule is extended the brakes will be grinding metal on metal creating the perfect conditions for a major disaster’.

Meamwhile, with Monday's strike set to go ahead, Transport for London is remaining optimistic about the level of service which will be maintained.

In the first stoppage on 6 and 7 September about 40 per cent of Underground trains ran, although some sections of line and many stations remained closed.

TfL said that 93 per cent of Oyster cardholders had made their journeys by public transport despite September’s strike.

In a statement, it said: ‘The union leaderships had predicted the “paralysis” of London, but in the event LU was able to operate over a third of its normal services, and carry over a million people.’

As the second strike looms, over 100 extra buses, capacity for over 10,000 more journeys on the river, and marshalled taxi ranks have been organised. Planned roadworks are being delayed or curtailed where possible, and TfL said it would be working to keep road traffic flowing around key transport hubs. Volunteers will be positioned at Tube, bus, and rail stations to advise passengers about their best travel options.

In a separate dispute, nearly 200 Alstom train maintenance workers at depots on the Jubilee and Northern Lines are to strike again next week in a dispute over over pay and conditions. The union has slammed the current ‘sub-inflation’ pay offer as ‘insulting’.

RMT members at the depots will begin their second 24-hour strike at 19:00 on Monday 4 October, with further action scheduled for the same time on Wednesday 3 November and Monday 29 November.

Indefinite overtime bans have been imposed in both disputes.