London Commuters Today Complained there Are No Strikes But There May As Well Be After Tube Stations Stayed Shut As Late As 9

London commuters today complained 'there are no strikes, but there may as well be' after Tube stations stayed shut as late as 9.30am this morning and TfL warned of delays across the Underground - as Britain braces for further travel mayhem tomorrow.
Massive crowds formed queues outside shuttered Tube stations during this morning's rush hour because militant workers who were on strike until midnight were late to work.
Tempers flared at Paddington, Stratford, King's Cross/St Pancras and more than a dozen other sites across the capital, while commuters tweeted TfL demanding to know why their local stations were not open at 8am as promised.

Others posted pictures of empty Tube trains with no drivers, while those who managed to get onto trains found services were few and far between - and rammed.
Four hours later, there were still big problems across TfL services, with delays and part suspensions on the Circle and District Lines, the Hammersmith & City Line, the Metropolitan Line, the Piccadilly Line, and the London Overground.
After a skeleton service yesterday, trains are in the wrong place and only 60% of the 20,000 normal weekday services will be able to operate today.
Traffic was as heavy as yesterday because more people had to use their cars.

There were 2,046 traffic jams in London this morning, covering a total length of 834 miles, and a 30-minute journey was taking an average of an hour, according to traffic data analyst TomTom.
Commuters again jostled on to packed buses, driving or cycling to the office or school during the biggest strike in 30 years - as the RMT Union and railway bosses hold fresh talks today to try and resolve the ongoing dispute over pay.
It follows claims that National Rail and Mick Lynch came within a 'gnat's whisker' of striking a deal on Monday before the last-ditch talks collapsed. 
But the biggest strikes in 30 years have also forced millions of people to WFH again today and left town and city centres across the country deserted, in scenes reminiscent of the 'darkest days of Covid' when whole swathes of the economy were devastated by lockdown.
Lynch's strikes have come at a dreadful time for the crippled hospitality sector, which has been struggling to get back on its feet after two years of Covid restrictions.

Experts believe the mass walkouts this week will cost the sector £540million alone, as UKHospitality's chief executive Kate Nicholls warned: 'It's a very fragile industry that cannot withstand this type of economic shock. For many businesses, this will push them closer towards the edge of viability.'
Meanwhile, the human cost of the walkouts was laid bare after an NHS patient had to pay £165 for taxi from Portsmouth to London to get to his heart surgery.
And in a move likely to pile the pressure on 'hiding' Keir Starmer, Labour-controlled Merseyrail announced today that it had agreed a 7% pay rise with the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) - a sign that rail companies are bowing to the demands of union barons.
The Labour leader's authority is being tested after several of his MPs defied the party whip and 'held hands with Arthur Scargill' on the picket line yesterday.
At Prime Minister's Questions today, Boris Johnson excoriated Sir Keir's 'picket party' and accused Labour of 'backing strikers, not strivers'.

He told the Commons: 'We know why he [Sir Keir] won't condemn the strikes, we know why even now he hasn't got the gumption to call out his MPs for going out to support the pickets. The reason his authority is on the line in this matter is that they take £10million...
that's the fee the learned gentleman opposite is receiving for the case he is failing to make.'
It comes as Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O'Grady accused ministers of 'spoiling for a fight' with workers as inflation massively outstrips pay.
As the Government braces for a standoff with the public sector that could potentially last until Christmas, it emerged today:


The RMT and National Rail are holding talks again today after Mick Lynch threatened to repeatedly bring Britain's rail lines to a standstill until his pay demands are met;Ministers today branded the strikes as 'unjustified' and insisted the Government has to 'hold the line' against 'fat cat' Lynch's militant RMT;Teachers are threatening to unleash 'class war' by striking in the autumn if they are not given an 'inflation plus' pay rise.

Royal Mail workers yesterday demanded 'no strings, inflation-based' pay increases as they prepare to vote on industrial action;Labour MPs yesterday defied their leader and joined picket lines as Keir Starmer suffered a blow from the party's hard-left;At 84 years of age, Arthur Scargill is still militant - and joined a RMT picket line as unions we re accused of taking Britain back to the 1970s.
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Swathes of Tube stations failed to open at 8am as promised today as striking staff failed to return to work on time piling more misery on millions of Britons still suffering after yesterday's strike

Swathes of Tube stations failed to open at 8am as promised today as striking staff failed to return to work on time piling more misery on millions of Britons still suffering after yesterday's strike
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STRATFORD: Chaos as passengers wait for the station to open in London, as train services continue to be disrupted following the nationwide strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union along with London Underground workers in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions
KING'S CROSS: Passengers arrive at King's Cross station in London today on the second day of travel chaos
VICTORIA LINE: London commuters battle busy Tube platforms and carriages on the Victoria Line today
PADDINGTON STATION: Passengers arrive at Paddington Station in London today as Mick Lynch's strikes paralyse Britain
STRATFORD: Commuters waiting for the Central Line train at Stratford Station today
NORTH LONDON: Tube trains stand at Northfields Train Depot as train strikes hit services again
BIRMINGHAM: West Midlands Railway trains parked up and unused in Smethwick today
SURBITON: Long queues at the south-west London station this morning as Britons suffered a strike hangover
VICTORIA: The packed Tube this morning, which had a delayed start due to staff shortages and trains not being in the right places
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Traffic was as heavy as yesterday because more people had to use their cars.

There were 2,046 traffic jams in the capital this morning, covering a total length of 834 miles, and a 30 minute journey was taking an average of an hour, according to TomTom
PADDINGTON: Passengers bound for Glastonbury Festival wait at Paddington Station in London today
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