Tube strike 2017: Commuters battle to get home in miserable weather amid strike chaos

Commuters battle their way home here at Waterloo Station
Nigel Howard
Hatty Collier9 January 2017

Millions of Londoners battled to get home through a miserable evening rush hour commute after striking Tube workers brought chaos to the capital.

The 24-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association ended at 6pm.

But Transport for London warned station closures and reduced Tube services would still be in effect as millions of Londoners embarked on their trip home.

Commuters suffered nightmare journeys across the capital with some taking up to three hours to get home from work via bus, while some gave up on public transport and walked all the way home.

Queues: Commuters wait outside a closed entrance to Oxford Circus Tube station
PA

Enormous crowds stood in the pouring rain waiting for packed buses to arrive or queuing outside Tube and overground stations.

Many commuters waited outside Oxford Circus station from 6pm only to be told it would not reopen until the morning.

Bemused commuters attempt to park Boris bikes outside Waterloo station (NIGEL HOWARD ©)
NIGEL HOWARD ©

Tensions were fraught at an overcrowded Blackfriars station as passengers packed onto the platforms to board Thameslink services out of London.

Packed: Passengers on an overcrowded platform at Blackfriars station
Beth Thomas

Video footage taken at Canary Wharf showed a huge queue of commuters waiting to board riverboat services.

The continued disruption came as London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged union bosses to get back around the negotiating table to resolve the dispute over job losses and ticket office closures.

Tube Strike: 9th January 2017

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The Mayor said: “I share the deep frustration of millions of commuters whose journeys have been disrupted, all because of a completely unnecessary strike.

“I’d like to pay tribute to all those who endured long and difficult journeys to get to work today, and to thank the TfL staff who worked so hard to keep the buses moving and open nearly 70 per cent of stations across the Tube network, despite the strike.

“We’ve made huge progress on addressing this dispute, which began under Boris Johnson, and we are committed to resolving it amicably. A good deal, that will ensure station safety and staffing levels across the Tube network, remains on offer, and I urge the unions to continue talks. Londoners deserve a resolution to this issue without any further industrial action.”

Roads, buses and the even the city’s pavements were gridlocked into the evening.

London's cycle superhighways were packed with hordes of cyclists avoiding the huge crowds at Tube and bus stations.

Travellers wait for information about trains on the concourse at Waterloo
Nigel Howard

Photos taken at Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations showed hundreds of people intent on boarding overground trains packed onto the concourses.

Lisa Pavelin

Those who braved public transport or walked home through the rain lashed out at the travel chaos on social media.

Charles Miers tweeted a video of his walk through a downpour: “Well, I'm enjoying my commute today. Thank you to @SadiqKhan and all of his friends #TubeStrike #London #travelchaos.”

The RMT and the TSSA plan to hold meetings with members later this week to decide what happens next.

Today’s misery was at the start of a week of strikes, with three days of walkouts set to halt all Southern rail services tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday and a 48-hour strike by British Airways cabin crew cancelling some flights from Heathrow tomorrow and Wednesday.

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