LOCKDOWN LONDON 2.0

STATIONS DESERTED AS COMMUTERS WORK FROM HOME ON DAY ONE OF RAIL STRIKES. BORIS BRACES BRITAIN FOR MONTHS OF MISERY AS RMT PLEDGES MORE ACTION

- Nicholas Cecil, Ross Lydall, John Dunne, David Bond, Anna Davis and Jonathan Prynn

BORIS JOHNSON braced commuters for months of rail misery as unions crippled London's transport system today with strikes on the Tube and train networks.

The capital's stations were left eerily empty as the Government, unions and rail chiefs dug in for a long battle over forcing the industry to ditch "archaic" work practices and on pay and job cuts. Many Londoners were forced to endure long queues to get a bus to work or had to drive in, go by foot, bike or even boat.

The walk-outs were predicted to cost London's economy around £120 million in lost output, with the hospitality sector bearing the brunt. London schools prepared to use minibuses to collect exam students from home as they sought to ensure that A-levels and GCSEs were not disrupted. Some rail passengers accused union leaders of being out of touch amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Designer Jack Galloway, 33, who was attempting to travel from Paddington to Plymouth, said: "The strike is disgusting. We just came out of a pandemic, the economy is tanking with inflation soaring. What makes the rail workers so special? They are not in tune with the nation."

Speaking at the start of Cabinet, the Prime Minister condemned the "unnecessary aggravation" caused by the walkouts, with rail strikes on Thursday and Saturday as well, and warned of more travel chaos this summer.

"I'm afraid, everybody, and I say this to the country as a whole, we need to get ready to stay the course," he said.

"To stay the course, because these reforms, these improvements in the way we run our railways are in the interests of the travelling public, they will help to cut costs for fare payers up and down the country."