Two days of travel chaos are predicted in London following the failure of talks to call off a 48-hour Underground strike.

However, it is not all bad news for travellers after rail passengers in London and the South East have been promised more frequent train services, improved stations, more staff and better security.

The announcement couldn’t have been timed worse – coming just hours before a two-day Underground strike that is expected to cripple the capital.

The 48-hour stoppage will start from 7pm tonight and follows the failure of 10 hours of talks yesterday over jobs and pay.
London mayor Boris Johnson has said there will be extra buses, taxi-sharing and schemes to help cyclists.

Despite the strike, the Department of Transport went ahead with its good news story after transport minister Andrew Adonis awarded the South Central rail franchise to Southern Railways, a subsidiary of Govia - the current franchise operator.

The deal requires the new operator to introduce longer suburban trains at peak times and more trains on key lines during evenings and weekends.

There will also be an increase in the number of stations staffed at night and the introduction of CCTV on all trains.