More travel disruption as Tube strike continues

Nearly all London Underground services are suspended during the industrial action

Commuters have faced severe disruption for a second morning, as the Tube network was virtually shut down due to a strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

All Tube services are suspended, with the exception of the Northern line, which is running a reduced service, Transport for London (TfL) says.

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) was also suspended on Tuesday due to a separate strike by RMT union members.

Various groups of Tube workers including depot managers and signallers are taking part in a "rolling strike" until Thursday in a dispute over pay and conditions.

• Live: Commuters face disruption as London Tube strike continues

Among other demands, the RMT union wants workers' hours reduced to a 32-hour week, which TfL says is unaffordable.

BBC newsgathering journalists reported Elizabeth line, Overground, rail and walking routes to be far less busy than they were on Monday.

At the start of the working week, TfL said footfall on London Overground and Elizabeth line services increased by 31%, noting that these lines had likely been absorbing displaced Tube passengers.

Long queues were seen at bus stops in central London, while bike rental schemes Lime, Forest and Santander reported increased uptake on Monday.

A spokesperson for the prime minister has urged the RMT and TfL to "get back around the table" to end the strikes.

Buses and other modes of transport saw increased demand

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan echoed the call and described the industrial action as "bad news for London".

"TfL have made clear they can't afford its workers working fewer hours for more pay, but they are willing to talk to the RMT and other unions whenever there is a dispute and to try and resolve things amicably," he said.

The transport body has offered RMT members a pay increase of 3.4% but argue that reducing their working week to 32 hours would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

Jared Wood, an organiser with the RMT union, said: "They're throwing in everything they can imagine to come up with a figure of hundreds of millions – it would not be near hundreds of millions to make real progress.

"At the end of this week we hope to be in meaningful discussions where the company comes up with a way of resolving this."