Rail and Tube passengers have suffered delays and disruption because of two separate strikes in rows over staffing.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on Southern Railway and parts of London Underground staged 24-hour walkouts, saying both were "solidly " supported.

Picket lines were mounted outside rail and Tube stations.

The Tube strike started at 9pm on Tuesday in a row over the displacement of staff.

The action halted the Waterloo and City line and affected the Central line.

Peter McNaught, operations director for the Central line, said: "I apologise to customers for the disruption that this unnecessary strike is causing.

"We have made all reasonable efforts to resolve this dispute through talking through the issues with the unions, and we have minimised the number of employees affected from over 30 to eight.

"All of these moves are within the long-standing agreements we have made with the unions. We call on the RMT to honour this long-standing agreement and join us for more talks to resolve this issue."

Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said the union had made "strenuous efforts" to resolve the Tube dispute, adding: "The action is rock solid today with the impact severe and widespread, and the blame for that lies firmly at the door of an intransigent LU management that refuses to see sense.

"If LU are allowed to get away with this move on the Central line they will start shunting drivers around at the drop of a hat regardless of the consequences.

"Our members will be sent out from pillar to post to plug gaps that are solely down to staffing shortages. With massive budget cuts in the pipeline at LU this is a straw in the wind as to how the company expects to operate in the future."

Members of the drivers' union Aslef were also on strike on the Tube.

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