Fresh Tube strike forces commuters to use bikes

London: Commuters resorted to bicycles, trains, taxis, boats and buses in the face of a fresh Tube strike.

Transport for London (TfL) said more than 40 per cent of Tube trains were operating this morning, despite the strike. But the unions said disruption to services was worse than during two previous strikes, claiming that London Underground was running "ghost trains" through closed stations.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association walked out for 24 hours in two waves from 7pm and 9pm last night, with another stoppage planned at the end of the month unless a deadlock over job losses is broken. Fresh talks held under the auspices of the conciliation service will be held tomorrow in a bid to resolve the dispute.

TfL said: "We'll run as many Tube services as we can, but some lines may have a restricted service and some stations will be closed. Check before you travel using live travel news, making sure to check whether your station is closed, and please use an alternative route or method of transport if possible."

Its website said the Circle line was suspended while other lines had restricted services or were part suspended. But the Waterloo and City line was listed as having a good service.

There were delays last night on lines including the Bakerloo, Central, Hammersmith City and Metropolitan, which the unions said were caused by the action — the third strike in recent weeks. TfL said London Underground operated 40 per cent of its normal services during the last strike on October 3 and 93 per cent of Oyster users made their journeys by public transport.