Tube strike: What's going on and how to avoid the worst of it

Around 20,000 London Underground workers will walk out from Wednesday afternoon, in one of the biggest Tube strikes in more than a decade.

Here's everything you need to know and a few ways to make life easier amid the chaos:

What is the dispute over?

Workers are striking over pay conditions regarding the launch of the Night Tube which will offer a 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays on certain lines from September.

Representatives from RMT, Aslef, TSSA and Unite rejected a final offer of a two per cent pay rise and a £2,000 bonus for drivers working overnight. Chances of a resolution being reached before the strike look very slim.

How long will it last?

As a result of the broken-down negotiations, 20,000 Tube workers will walk out from 6.30pm on Wednesday. However, disruption could begin earlier because unions have told staff not to clock on for shifts which end after the strike has started.

Members of RMT, TSSA and Unite will be the first to walk out with Aslef workers striking from 9.30pm.

The strike is due to last 24 hours but Transport for London (TfL) expects there to be no service whatsoever on Thursday. Normal service is therefore not expected to be back to normal until Friday morning.

What lines will be affected?

The entire London Underground network is expected to be shut down for the first time since 2002.

However, DLR, London Overground and TfL Rail staff are not on strike and those services will still be running as normal although are expected to be very busy.

Other ways to get around:

During the strike, TfL says it will put on an extra 200 buses, extra river services, and extra cycle hubs. National Express will also be running extra coach services and

There will also be some delays on Chiltern Railways and First Great Western services.

Here is a guide to Boris Bike hubs:

And how long it takes to walk between each Tube station:

Check out the Independent's guide to walking around town as well as TfL's bus guide and walking guide to the city and follow live updates here.

What do TfL and the unions have to say?

In an open letter to Londoners on Wednesday morning, London Underground managing director Mike Brown said the industrial action was "totally unnecessary".

London is increasingly a 24 hour city; the Tube is now just as busy late at night as it is in the peak hours during the day. That’s why we’re introducing the Night Tube which, from September, will see trains running on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines on Friday and Saturday nights.

The Night Tube will cut night-time journeys and will play a vital role in opening up London's night-time economy, supporting almost 2,000 permanent jobs and boosting the economy by £360m. That’s why it’s supported by customers and businesses alike. And, as always, being fair to our hardworking staff is central to its introduction. That’s why we’ve strained every muscle to put together a remarkably fair pay offer.

However, Aslef's lead negotiator Finn Brennan said on Tuesday that TfL and London Underground had months to negotiate a fair deal and failed.

For three months they didn't change their position, then they gave four trade unions one afternoon [on Monday] to unconditionally accept an offer before withdrawing it.

This is no way to conduct serious negotiations. They have entirely wasted the window of opportunity to resolve this dispute over the last three months and are now trying to blame the trade unions for the impact of their inept tactics.

More: One in three Londoners say they will never use the night Tube

More: The night tube map has been unveiled