Striking Tube worker brought misery to London commuters on Monday as they faced chaotic journeys on the first working day after the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.
There was severe disruption across the network as 4,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union staged a 24-hour walkout.
The strike, part of an ongoing dispute over jobs and pensions, forced travellers to cram onto buses or brave congested roads to get to work.
London Underground advised people not to travel.
Minister for London Paul Scully said the chaos sparked by the walkout helped no one, especially at a time when London business are recovering from pandemic lockdowns and the country faces a cost of living crisis.
He told the Standard: “It’s a difficult time for Londoners who are seeing increased costs but if we work through this together, the fundamentals of the London economy are such that we can bounce back stronger.
“Strike action helps no one least of all the workers the unions seek to represent.”
Three of the main Underground lines were closed completely, with six others operating severely restricted “special services”.
Many underground stations, particularly in central London, were closed and transport hubs where overground trains and buses were running were packed as passengers struggled through lashing rain to get to their destination.
Commuters and tourists vented frustration that their journeys had been hampered following the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend.
At Shepherds Bush station, commuters arrived to face a picket line and locked gates.
An NHS worker shouted at the striking workers: “I hope I’m on strike when you need a blood test.”
Construction worker Miguel Basantes, who was stranded at Paddington station as he tried to get to work in Hampstead, described the situation as “chaos” and added: “I don’t know how to get to work.”
At Wood Green, Liz Cauldwell, 48, said: “We have a cost of living crisis and people are just trying to get to work to make ends meet. The transport workers are just making people’s lives more difficult. It’s selfish.”
Ealing Broadway, usually a hub for the Central line, was packed with commuters struggling to get on buses and overland services.
City worker Jason Garnet, 22, said: “Today is so frustrating. The unions are just upsetting the travelling public. It’s doing no good to their cause.”
Transport for London’s chief operating officer Andy Lord told LBC: “I’d really encourage the RMT to reengage with us, talk to us so we can give certainty both to their members, our staff, but most importantly to London.
“I don’t believe industrial action is the way to do that. And I’d really call on the RMT to stop taking this industrial action. Let’s get around the table and let’s reach an agreement so that we can give certainty to everybody.”
The RMT claimed that, under current proposals, working agreements would be torn up and a threat to pensions remained.
General secretary Mick Lynch said: “We are demanding a direct face-to-face meeting with mayor Sadiq Khan to sort this mess out.”
RMT members on the Tube are also taking action short of a strike, meaning station staff might not work overtime, until Sunday July 10, which may result in short notice station closures.
However, TfL insisted no plans have been tabled on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody would lose their jobs because of the proposals it has set out.
As part of previous funding agreements, the Government has required TfL to work towards achieving financial sustainability on its operations by April 2023.
TfL has proposed not recruiting into around 500 to 600 posts as they become vacant.
Today’s action follows a four day walkout by union members in March which ground parts of the capital to a halt.
The union has not ruled out further strike action.
In a further blow the Overground, which was not impacted by the strike, was part suspended between Hackney Downs and Enfield Town on Monday morning due to power supply problems at Stoke Newington.
