This was the scene at Blackfriars station as commuters caught up in London’s crippling Tube strike attempted to get home.
Tensions were fraught as huge crowds of passengers packed onto the platforms at the station to board train services out of the capital.
A strike by 4,000 Tube station and ticket staff from the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) unions brought chaos to the capital’s Tube network on Monday.
Photos posted on social media showed huge crowds of commuters squeezing their way into the rail station as they tried to find an alternative route home.
Frustrated passengers reported being told to leave a packed Thameslink service because a replacement driver was “unqualified” to drive the train, which added to the chaos.
Travellers complained of “nightmare scenes” and “dangerous” overcrowding.
Beth Thomas posted: “Well Blackfriars is a pleasant experience right now.”
Ceila Rice tweeted: “Blackfriars station, not only is there a Tube strike, they've also gone and cancelled most of the trains. Good work. #TubeStrike #thameslink.”
Tanya Moodie wrote: "Kicked off @TLRailUK at Blackfriars. Replacement driver "not qualified to drive train". Platform dangerously crowded. No strike yet. Normal."
Ashley Moxley said: "Glad I'm not heading South. #Blackfriars Platform 1 is wall to wall! #TubeStrike."
Will Harmer said: "Epic incompetence from @TLRailUK as they are forced to cancel a packed train at Blackfriars because the replacement crew aren't trained."
Photos taken at Waterloo and Liverpool Street stations also showed hundreds of people intent on boarding overground trains packed onto the concourses.
Commuters suffered nightmare journeys across the capital with some taking up to three hours to get home from work via bus, while some gave up on public transport and walked all the way home through the pouring rain.
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Enormous crowds stood in the pouring rain waiting for packed buses to arrive or queuing outside Tube and overground stations.
Today’s misery was at the start of a week of strikes, with three days of walkouts set to halt all Southern rail services tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday and a 48-hour strike by British Airways cabin crew cancelling some flights from Heathrow tomorrow and Wednesday.
