SEVERE disruption is expected across London's Tube network tomorrow and on Thursday due to strike action.

Transport for London (TfL) is advising Londoners whose journeys rely on the Underground to work from home if they can or look for alternative travel options.

Executives and union leaders have been holding last minute talks today with the hopes of heading off the strikes.

If these fail, the industrial action is due to start at just after midnight tonight and run for 24 hours. TfL is warning that it is also 'likely to severely impact services' on Wednesday up until around 9am.

While working from home has proved a viable option during the pandemic, it is expected that many people will be switching to cars so leading to jams.

TfL is advising people to walk, cycle or use a rental e-scooter for all or part of their journeys where possible if the planned action goes ahead.

Other TfL services, including buses, DLR, London Overground, Trams and TfL Rail, are not affected by the strike action and will be running but will be busier than normal.

The disruption is the result of industrial action by the RMT union over proposals on pensions, working conditions and jobs.

The union says a new funding deal forced on to TfL will harm the working conditions of its members who run Tube services. One of the options being discussed is speeding up a shift to driverless trains.

Last week, weekday ridership on the Tube hit two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels for the first time. The figure on Saturday reached up to 90per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Chief operating officer at TfL, Andy Lord, said: "I would ask anyone who needs to use the Tube on March 1 and 3 to check before they make their journey, consider whether they are able to work from home and use alternative modes of transport where possible.

"It's highly unlikely there will be an Underground service running during the strike action and services are likely to be affected on the mornings of March 2 and 4 too.

"I apologise to customers for this and understand they will be frustrated by this strike action, but urge them not to take it out on those who are trying to help."

He added: "'We haven't proposed any changes to pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out, so this action is completely unnecessary.

"We know our customers deserve better than this and that is why we're urging the RMT to talk to us so we can find a resolution to this dispute and call off this action, which is threatening London's recovery from the pandemic."

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Our members will be taking strike action because a financial crisis at LU (London Underground) has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions.

"These are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to strike to defend their livelihoods.

"The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis.

"In addition to the strike action, RMT is co-ordinating a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat."

Picket lines will be mounted outside Tube stations across the capital on Tuesday and Thursday.

More information is available HERE