Tube unions at war over strike

The 48-hour stoppage called by the RMT was described as wrong by the leader of rival union Aslef who said his members would be crossing picket lines for the first time.

RMT leader Bob Crow insisted the strike was "solid" but trains still ran on the Victoria line, his union's stronghold, as well as eight other lines, although some were restricted shuttle services. This afternoon 140 out of 420 trains were running.

Commuters walked, cycled, took Thames boats, shared taxis or used extra buses laid on to beat the strike on their way in and for the journey home tonight. Traffic on the roads was heavier as more people drove to work.

Aslef, which represents 40 per cent of Tube drivers, condemned the RMT strike as "premature" because the dispute over pay and job losses could have been settled by negotiation.

Aslef revealed it had ignored repeated attempts by the RMT to persuade it to join the industrial action.

Around 150,000 London commuters failed to make it into work, according to initial estimates, which is about one in 10 of the normal 1.5 million who travel to work in central London each day.

If the dispute drags on for 48 hours and spills over into Friday the cost to London could hit £85 million.

The loss to West End stores alone is estimated at £25 million with around 100,000 fewer shoppers than usual.

Boris Johnson said: "It is quite simply outrageous for the leadership of the RMT to ask their members, the majority of whom did not vote for this strike, to take part in this ludicrous and unnecessary disruption to our city."

Peace talks appeared imminent this afternoon. Mr Crow told Mr Johnson he was willing to meet him "any time" to try to settle the dispute.

Tube bosses also said they desperately wanted to get back round the negotiating table.

Transport commissioner Peter Hendy said support for the strike was "far from the level" being predicted by the RMT leadership and praised those staff who have turned up to work "to keep London moving".

Mr Hendy added: "We urge everyone travelling in and around London during the strike to check before you travel and to consider the wide range of alternative travel options."

As the war of words between the two unions continued, one Northern line Tube driver and member of Aslef said his union was in its own negotiations over pay.

He criticised Mr Crow, saying he had acted rashly. The driver, who asked not be named, said the RMT was a separate union and they simply did not want to get involved. He said: "Bob Crow has jumped the gun again."

Keith Norman, general secretary of Aslef, said: "Our members are not involved in this dispute. We believe this dispute can be solved through negotiation. The fact that so many Aslef drivers have turned up for work today is highly significant.

"In the past Aslef drivers would have refused to cross picket lines in support of a rival union. This is evidently not the case today."

Mr Crow ordered his 10,000 members to walk out from 7pm last night. The strike was originally over a pay deal and demands to avoid compulsory redundancies as thousands of jobs are slashed in a cost-cutting programme.

Mr Crow this afternoon accused London Underground management of "dishonesty" over the breakdown of talks last night.

In a letter to TfL he said he had been confident they had a basis for a deal but that the management team reneged on it before the agreement could be typed up — 25 minutes before the strike deadline.

He described as an "out and out lie" claims that the RMT were only interested in the reinstatement of two sacked drivers.

Ken Livingstone said Mr Johnson was at fault because he had not met the RMT leaders or addressed the issue earlier.

He said: "He's got to talk to them and make his position clear."

Additional reporting: Katharine Barney, Paul Waugh, Danny Brierley, Benedict Moore-Bridger and Peter Dominiczak