September 26, 2002	Thursday	Rajab 18, 1423

LONDON, Sept 25: Public transport workers in London, Paris and major Italian cities went on strike on Wednesday in separate campaigns for higher pay and better conditions.

The British capital was worst-hit. All dozen lines of the London Undergound were halted for 24 hours, forcing the three million people who travel on the subway system to find other ways of getting around.

Roads were snarled with extra vehicles and packed buses and taxis and financial analysts put the cost of the walkout by the Tube drivers — due to be repeated next Tuesday — at 60 million pounds.

A similar but lesser strike on Paris’s metro system affected only about one train in four, as other driver unions declined to follow an action called by the CGT union. The main lines through the centre of the city operated normally.

Almost all bus, rail and tram services in big Italian cities ground to a halt, creating chaotic scenes on the roads.

Rome’s two metro lines were stopped along with public transport links to the suburbs, while in Milan, where 1,600 extra traffic officers were deployed in a bid to keep disruptions to a minimum, city officials said they were concerned about the strike coinciding with a major international football match.—AFP