Millions stranded as London gripped by Subway strike chaos
Pastor Dale Morgan
Millions stranded as London gripped by Subway strike chaos*
From correspondents in London
Agence France-Presse
June 11, 2009 05:30am
MILLIONS of exasperated Londoners battled with travel chaos overnight,
as the British capital's underground system largely ground to a halt due
to a two-day Tube strike.
Commuters took to bikes, buses and boats on the Thames to beat the
underground stoppage, while the streets were packed with people walking
miles to and from work.
The strike also cast a cloud over an England versus Andorra football
World Cup qualifier at Wembley in the evening, going ahead despite the
absence of public transport to cater for fans flocking to the northwest
London stadium.
Having soldiered in to work, many then faced long and complicated
journeys home, leaving offices early in order to beat the evening rush-hour.
"It's quite irritating because I might have to take tomorrow off work if
it's going to be as bad as today," said administrative worker Phoebe
Wood, 24, who took an hour longer than usual to get in to work.
"I want to go to work and I need to earn my rent," she said.
The Tube walkout - lasting for 48 hours from 7pm yesterday local time -
shut down either completely or partially nine of the 11 underground
lines in the capital, with just two lines running with only minor delays
by mid-afternoon.
Overland mainline trains were packed to near-bursting point as workers
from outer districts used the only alternative to travel into central
London during the morning rush hour.
In some cases trains were so full, with passengers crammed into every
available space sitting and standing, that they simply passed through
stations without being able to take any more passengers.
Streets were unusually busy during morning rush hour with cyclists and
motorists. Extra buses, guided cycle routes and free river boats on the
Thames were laid on as well.
The strike was likely to cause misery for football fans travelling to
Wembley Stadium to watch the England against Andorra match.
To make matters worse, overland train companies said trains would not be
stopping in Wembley, because they were already stretched just dealing
with normal commuter traffic.
"We will unfortunately not be providing a service for those going to see
the England game at Wembley Stadium," said Chiltern Railways, while
London Midland trains cited "the risk of overcrowding on rail services"
due to the match.
London Mayor Boris Johnson called the walkout - the first to hit the
entire network since 2004 - "irritating, unnecessary and misery-making"
and urged the RMT railworkers union to get back to negotiations which
collapsed yesterday.
"It's absolutely essential in my view that people of goodwill get round
the table in the next few hours," he told BBC radio.
But RMT general secretary Bob Crow said his union had "good reason" to
be on strike over compulsory redundancies and "the application of
disciplinary procedure".
Adam Tibbalds, a 38-year-old banker, said his journey to the Canary
Wharf financial district east of central London via riverboat had been
delayed due to the sheer number of passengers waiting to get on board.
Some voiced anger and frustration at the striking Tube workers, whose
action comes as London battles like everyone else with a severe downturn.
"It does come across as a bit greedy at the moment to ask for a pay rise
when everybody else is taking pay freezes. I think they have misjudged
what the public opinion of that might be," said Mr Tibbalds.