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Misery and chaos for London commuters during Tube strike - as TfL website crashes

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Crowds pack the buses in King's Cross following the closure of the London Underground
Crowds pack the buses in King's Cross following the closure of the London Underground. Picture: Alamy

By Phillip

Hundreds of thousands of commuters woke to transport misery this morning as a five-day run of walkouts by RMT union members began.

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Commuters waiting at bus stop in London
Commuters face a week of transport chaos, with almost no tube lines running during the RMT strike. Picture: Getty

To add to the confusion, the TFL website crashed as users looked for travel solutions. Hundreds of thousands of commuters reportedly tried to access the site at once, overwhelming its servers.

Disruption began on Sunday as thousands of workers walked out over pay and working conditions, with no services operating before 8am or after 6pm.

The industrial action comes after Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) rejected Transport for London's 3.4 per cent pay offer.

The strike is set to continue all week, with few or no services running on the Tube between Monday and Thursday.

Read More: Passengers face commute chaos as Tube strike set to 'ramp up' on Monday

Read More: Sadiq Khan needs to get a grip of the strikes crisis or make way for someone who will, writes Susan Hall

Signage at London Victoria underground station illustrates the strike impacts from Saturday 06 to Friday 12 on September 07
The Transport for London website crashed as Londoners scrambled for updates on the RMT’s five-day strike. Picture: Getty

The RMT strike disrupts all Tube lines, including Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, and Waterloo & City.

Transport for London (TfL) reports little to no service across the network, urging commuters to complete journeys by 6pm.

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will also experience no service on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 September, and specific Elizabeth Line stations will have limited stops.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research suggests the economic cost of the industrial action could be as much as £230m. This figure reportedly reflects the loss of roughly 700,000 working days across both TfL staff and the wider commuter base.

Commuters cross London Bridge in a packed red London bus early in the morning
Strikes are set to also disrupt bus services this week, adding to the chaos caused by tube closures. Picture: Getty

Strikes are planned on bus services operated by First Bus.

According to the TFL website, If they go ahead, they will affect 60 routes in west, northwest and southwest London from 05:00 on Friday 12 September to 05:00 on Monday 15 September.

Little or no service is likely on affected routes. Local buses that are not directly affected by strikes are expected to be busier than normal.