A 48-hour Tube strike will take place from 9pm this evening after talks between transport chiefs and union bosses to halt the action ended without agreement.

Leaders of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union held a last-ditch meeting with London Underground (LU) at the offices of the conciliation service Acas to resolve a row over ticket office closures today.

But the talks lasted only a couple of hours and broke up with no sign of a breakthrough.

LU warned there will be disruption to services from this evening, with Tubes starting later and finishing earlier than normal until Thursday.

London mayor Boris Johnson attacked the union and described the strike as “pointless”, he said: “It seems the RMT leadership is set against modernisation and has no fresh ideas of its own.

“Commuters and businesses will suffer because a few narrow-minded union barons are currently flexing their muscles in a fight for the leadership of a union where just 30 per cent of members support a strike.”

Mick Cash, RMT acting general secretary, said: “London Underground have dug themselves into an entrenched position and have refused to move one inch from their stance of closing every ticket office, in breach of the agreement reached previously through Acas which enabled us to suspend the previous round of action.

“RMT could have recommended the suspension of this strike action if LU had responded positively to our proposal to halt the implementation of these savage cuts, stopping the dire impact they would have the length and breadth of London Underground.”

A three-day strike is planned for next week.