Millions of commuters and tourists will face transport chaos this week in London as workers on the Underground rail network plan to hold a two-day strike in a dispute over planned job cuts.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers' union (RMT) are due to stage a 48-hour walkout beginning at 2000 GMT today (April 28) after talks aimed at resolving the row over plans to close manned ticket offices broke down earlier this month.

Fresh talks will be held today in a last ditch effort to prevent the strike going ahead, a spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) said on Sunday.

A similar strike in February brought the network, used by some three million people most days, to a virtual standstill. A second planned February walkout was averted to allow talks to take place.

The strike action follows the March 11 death of RMT leader Bob Crow, whose success in extracting concessions from employers through hard talk and industrial disruption has set the mould for those vying to replace him, trade union experts say.

Another three-day strike has been called from May 5.

TfL, which argues that less than three percent of journeys on the 151-year-old tube network now involve passengers using ticket offices, has said it will run a limited service on some lines, with some stations closed. Extra bus and river boat services will also be added. - Reuters