Millions of commuters in London endured travel chaos yesterday as a 72-hour strike by maintenance workers closed most of the city's underground rail network.

As the strike entered its second day, Transport for London (TfL) said the disruption was "severe and unacceptable", 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 and the city's buses were packed.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on the workers to end the strike. "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."

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