The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union has slammed a document which it claims supports the closure of all ticket offices on the London Underground network, except for 30, and the cutting of around 1,500 jobs. The leaked strategy document also contains proposals to make trains driverless, according to the union.

London Underground has been quick to point out that the paper is meant to prompt discussions only, and is not representative of any agreements which have already been made. The RMT has labelled the proposals as dangerous, and accused LU of putting austerity ahead of safety.

The Operational Strategy Discussion Paper, which is dated July this year, apparently looks at ways of cutting operational costs by around 20 per cent by the end of the decade. By 2016, the paper predicts that most ticket offices at stations will no longer be needed as most passengers will be using Oyster cards or bank cards to pay for journeys.

By 2017, the document suggests that only 20 per cent of the trains running on the network will require a driver, and that by 2020 all trains will be fully automated. The 30 ticket offices to remain open will become travel centres, it says.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said that every London Underground staff member would be affected by the plans. Mike Brown, of Transport for London, explained that the body remained committed to keeping stations fully staffed, pointing out that the paper was merely meant to stimulate thinking and look to the future of the Underground network.