Tube strike signals end of party for Londoners

The Platinum Jubilee celebrations are well and truly over for Londoners, as a miserable Monday morning brought news of a fresh Tube strike.

After four days of marking the Queen's 70 years on the throne, the long weekend came to an abrupt end as those wishing to travel - many of them with no option to work from home - discovered that there was little or no service across almost the entire London Underground network.

A lot of passengers at Waterloo station were caught out by the fact that all stations in the heart of the capital were closed.

The impact has possibly been minimised with some workers able to work from home on Mondays, together with some London schools having inset days following half-term.

It is the first strike since 15,000 Tube staff received an 8.4% pay rise in April, a month after industrial action cost Transport for London (TfL) £13m in lost fares.

"It's very inconvenient especially after the Queen's Jubilee," says Joy Robb, who works as a NHS receptionist at Central Middlesex Hospital and usually takes a northbound Bakerloo line train.

"All that was in my mind was the Queen's Jubilee and now I can't get to work," she says.

"I am the only one there to do the receptionist and I don't even know which bus to get me to Harlesden."

The key worker will be late for work. "I already told my boss and he's very understanding," she adds.

I find Lucie Dinardo shielding from the rain at a bus stop at Waterloo station as she tries to get to day one of her first job since graduating.

"I've left my house an hour early," says the 22-year-old.

"It's been stressful. I'm not happy about my extra early start," the sales development rep adds.

Nick Wood and his wife Fiona have had the worst possible start to their journey to Namur in Belgium via Brussels for a conference.

Rolling their suitcases across the concourse at Waterloo station, it quickly becomes obvious their journey to King's Cross St Pancras will be much trickier than it otherwise would have been.

"It's very inconvenient because we've just arrived and we didn't know anything about it," he says.

"Hopefully we can get a cab but I imagine cabs are very busy too, so yeah thanks very much London Transport."

Philip has just stepped off a train from Tunbridge Wells in Kent and has joined the back of the queue for a taxi at Charing Cross station.

He is trying to see his goddaughter in Reading and would have taken the Bakerloo line northbound to Paddington.

"Instead of costing me next to nothing, I don't know what it will cost me - but it'll be too much," he says clutching his newspaper.

"I'm retired so I didn't often go on these expeditions. It's having a little impact but some people will be much worse affected."

Is he frustrated? "Yes, I think I think that there should be negotiation, arbitration, all those things.

"I don't know if they have tried but I am upset about it. I haven't got a mobile telephone so it makes an impact" he adds.

Emma Rosenvinge is trying to get to Liverpool Street with her daughter Thea but the closure at Waterloo means a delay of at least half an hour.

"It's not brilliant," she says.

"It's not a great start to the morning I'm not going to lie, but what can you do?" she asks before trooping off in the direction of the bus stop.

Matthew Lawrence had been hoping to take the London Underground to the zoo from Waterloo.

"We were going to get an early train and take the Northern line which is completely shut," the 20-year-old says.

"Now we've got to get the bus there and hopefully make it on time for our ticket," he adds.

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