Commuters arrive to find Underground stations CLOSED until 7.30am

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Londoners faced more chaos on the Tube today, with many services still not running during the morning rush, following yesterday’s strike.

Despite official action only being scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, passengers were warned to expect ‘severe disruption each morning, with services improving by late morning’.

But many commuters were left frustrated as they turned up to underground stations to find the gates closed and, for the second day running, having to turn to alternative forms of transport to get to work. 

The anger of passengers at Canada Water was exacerbated after they were initially told the station would reopen by 7.15am – only to then be informed just moments later it would likely remain shut until 8am. 

The TfL website just after 7am showed all lines were either suspended, part-suspended or running with a reduced service or minor delays, with the exception of the Victoria and Central lines, as well as TfL rail. 

Meanwhile, there was disruption on other routes into the city, with passengers on a South West Trains service to London Waterloo evacuated at St Margaret’s, near Twickenham, following reports of a person being hit by a train. 

Fed-up workers again had to queue for buses in the rain in a desperate bid to get to work, with many unable to access a taxi instead. 

It comes after there was widespread fury yesterday at the timing of the strike – in the first full week since the end of all remaining Covid restrictions – which sparked the worst traffic in the capital in three years. 

The strike ground the capital to a halt, just as workers are returning to the office in their droves – with commuters fighting at packed bus stops and accusing cab-hailing services including Uber of ‘scamming’ the public by adding an extra £40 to fares.  

There are fresh reports this morning of Uber cashing in by doubling the usual price of fares, though the company insisted yesterday it had capped the level that prices can surge and was ‘working hard’ to ensure there are enough drivers to meet demand. 

Down Detector, which monitors and records system problems, saw more than 200 reports of problems with Uber around 7am, though any issues seemed to have subsided shortly after.

Tensions boiled over on Tuesday as passengers tried to force their way to the front of queues and pile onto buses, with fights breaking out in the carnage against a backdrop of heavy rainfall.

More vehicles on the road saw traffic grind to a halt, which only added to the woes of commuters desperately trying to get to work on time. 

Location technology firm TomTom said at 9am the level of road congestion was 119%, which is the highest figure for the capital this year. The level was 80% at the same time last week. The figures represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions. 

The firm told MailOnline its data revealed that London’s roads were busier this morning than at any point, at any time of day, since the beginning of 2019.

Uber appeared to inflate its prices substantially as a result, while there were reports of cab drivers pitting customers against each other by cancelling some trips in order to pocket higher fares elsewhere.

Similarly, there were delays and cancellations on overground services into the city, which fed-up passengers said ‘add another load of stress to the commute yet again’. 

Around 10,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have walked out for 24 hours today – and will do so again on Thursday – in a row over jobs, pensions and conditions.

The RMT said its members were ‘solidly supporting’ the industrial action, which added as much as two hours to the length of the commute for many.

Another 24-hour walkout will be held on Thursday, and there will be knock-on effects on Friday as well, passengers were warned.

The union fears that spending cuts will lead to hundreds of job losses and reductions in pensions and working conditions.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Sadiq Khan should be standing up to Tory ministers who want to needlessly attack jobs, pensions and conditions of key transport workers. It is this political failure that has left Tube workers with no choice but to strike this week.

‘Our members have been left paying the price for a turf war between City Hall and the Government, and they are not having it – as can be seen right across London today.

‘The mayor knows the plan to attack our members’ pensions and conditions is wrong and would leave our union no choice but to take industrial action.

‘However, only last week the mayor agreed to submit proposals to the Government that will result in detrimental changes to pensions.

‘The mayor has to decide if he is on the side of key workers who have kept London moving during the pandemic, or Tory ministers hellbent on punishing Tube workers.

‘This dispute can be solved if the Mayor meets the reasonable demands of his own workforce.’

TfL chief operating officer Andy Lord said: ‘We haven’t proposed any changes to pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out, so this action is completely unnecessary.

‘We know our customers deserve better than this and that is why we’re urging the RMT to talk to us so we can find a resolution to this dispute and call off this action, which is threatening London’s recovery from the pandemic.’