LONDON (AP) - Evening rush hour began early in London yesterday, as many people left work ahead of schedule to get home before a subway strike began.

Last-minute talks between London Underground managers and a union representing subway workers produced no breakthrough in a dispute involving pay and work conditions, prompting the employees to go ahead with their 24-hour job action beginning at 6:30 p.m. (1730 GMT).

Eileen Tulloch, 40, an administrative assistant who lives in East London, left work in central London early to board a train at the Chancery Lane subway station. She said she would have to work from home today, thanks to the strike on a subway system used by 3 million people a day.

"If I actually tried to get to work tomorrow, it would probably take me hours. So it is a major inconvenience," she said in an interview at the station, where rush hour began earlier than normal, with many people rushing to board subways.

Tulloch said her bosses didn't mind her leaving early, even though she had to leave uncompleted work behind. She also had to spend time figuring out what to bring home to work from there today.

"Annoyed would be the word," she said about her reaction. She also called the strike " a big inconvenience," but said she didn't know which side to blame.

Thousands of subway drivers, signalers and maintenance workers began walking out as the strike started, causing travel chaos for millions of people in the capital.

Most subway services were expected to be closed down within a few hours of the strike starting and will be crippled throughout today.

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