Commuters braced themselves for a 24-hour strike by London Underground workers as Tube services ground to a halt across the capital yesterday evening.

The action coincides with a 48-hour stoppage by workers on First Great Western which is disrupting trains to and from London Paddington.

Read our handy guide to surviving the strike and suppressing that all consuming commuter rage.

When are the strikes?

No Tube services will run from around 6pm on Wednesday (July 8) and no service at all on Thursday.

London Underground services are expected to be exceptionally busy from 4pm to 6pm on Wednesday before services stop running.

All lines and stations will be closed as the entire Tube service shuts down.

Friday morning services could also be affected as the service starts up again.

Thousands of members of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union at First Great Western will also walk-out for 48 hours from 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Why are the strikes going ahead?

Almost 20,000 members of four trade unions are striking in a row over the new all-night Tube services.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Aslef, Transport Salaried Staffs Association and Unite have been in dispute over pay being offered for the new service, due to start at weekends from mid-September, as well as rosters.

Talks aimed at averting the London Underground strike broke down after the two sides had met at the conciliation service Acas.

First Great Western workers are striking over jobs and maintenance of new Hitachi trains.

Workers involved in the two separate disputes staged a rally outside Paddington just before the strikes began.

How can I avoid chaos during the strikes?

Transport for London’s website will be updated regularly with all the latest news on the strike and the status of London Underground lines.

You can also use the website’s route planner to find an alternative route to work on London Overground, National Rail, Docklands Light Railway or London buses.

Around 200 extra buses will be on the roads tomorrow but TfL has warned roads and bus routes will be extremely busy. 

View the bus map here.

Look out for updates from Transport for London and First Great Western on Twitter at @TflTravelAlerts and @FGW.

You can also download Transport for London’s walking map of central London here.

Or use this map to find your nearest Boris Bike docking station if you plan to borrow one and cycle.

Jog, run, use the Thames Clipper riverboat service, share a car or taxi between colleagues, sleep at the office, try to work from home or anything else you can think of.

Just make sure you have a newspaper, music, book or some other form of entertainment and a drink or snack with you to keep you occupied and stem that commuter rage.