Brown condemns "unjustifiable" Tube strike

LONDON, Sep 4 (Reuters) Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Tube workers to end their 72-hour strike today after millions of London commuters endured travel chaos.

''This is a wholly unjustifiable strike,'' he said at his monthly news conference. ''It is causing an enormous amount of trouble to the people of London and disruption to the business of this city.

''They should get back to work as quickly as possible.'' Transport for London (TfL) said most of the network was closed, with trains suspended on all but three of the 12 lines.

Many of the three million passengers who use the network each day were forced to find alternative routes to work, with thousands packing on to buses.

About 2,300 staff at collapsed contractor Metronet walked out at 6 p.m.yesterday in a row over jobs and pensions.

Even though the strike is due to end at 6 p.m. on Thursday, the chaos is expected to drag on into Friday.

The RMT rail union said it would hold talks with TfL, Metronet and its administrator later on Tuesday to try to end the walkout.

''We hope that Metronet and its administrator will now take our members' legitimate concerns seriously,'' RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement.

The RMT says it wants guarantees that the collapse of Metronet will not lead to job losses or pension cuts.

It went under in July after banks denied it access to funds amid a projected overspend of 2 billion pounds.

Metronet is responsible under a 30-year public-private partnership contract for the infrastructure of nine Tube lines.

TfL and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone say they have already given the union guarantees over jobs.

Trains ground to a halt on the following lines: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, East London, Hammersmith&City,Metropolitan, Victoria and Waterloo&City. Part of the Piccadilly line was also suspended.

TfL said there was a good service on the Northern and Jubilee lines, which are maintained by a different company.

The Docklands Light Railway, which links Canary Wharf and east London with the City, is operating normally.

A second 72-hour strike is due to start on Sept. 10.

REUTERS PD AS1900