London Tube strike sparks travel chaos

Commuters line up for buses in central London on Monday during a 24-hour Tube strike.                  Millions of Londoners battled to get to work on Monday because of a Tube strike that brought traffic to a standstill, giving many no other alternative but to walk.

All London Underground stations in the city center remained closed in the morning amid the protracted dispute with trade unions over job cuts and the closure of ticket offices to make way for full automation.

Elsewhere services were 67 percent staffed, according to Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. Unions said in many cases trains were running but were not stopping at stations.

Transport for London said an additional 150 buses had been laid on but many were too crowded to stop for waiting passengers.

Commuters take a shortcut through a construction site in London on Monday.

Khan, whose father was a London bus driver, said in an earlier tweet the strike was "totally unnecessary."

The disputes between the RMT and TSSA unions and Transport for London, the organization that runs London's buses and tubes, began during the tenure of the previous mayor Boris Johnson, now the Foreign Secretary.

Last minute talks failed to avert the 24-hour strike, which ends at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. ET).

All Underground stations in central London -- including Waterloo -- were closed on Monday morning.

Frustrated commuters took to social media to share photographs of their journey to work.