Anger on the trains

Passengers standing in the cold at Epsom Station hardly needed the RMT signs to remind them that there was a strike on.

For the third day, many had travelled from surrounding towns and villages bereft of South West Trains to pick up Connex South Central services to Victoria. Most were fed up with RMT's seeming inability to resolve its disputes.

Peter Davy, 48, an investment analyst, said: "[The RMT] are holding management to ransom. And they should be able to sort it out internally and not use their customers."

Secretary Bridget Fear, 56, said: "It's irritating because it means I shall be late for work. I have been taking some annual leave to avoid the stress of battling into town."

Estate agent Sandra Shepherd, 28, said: "The fact that some companies have put their fares up today adds insult to injury."

Even among passengers at Clapham Junction - considered by those further out to be the lucky ones - feelings were running high.

Accountant Chris Elerker, 24, said: "No one else is getting big pay rises at the moment, so why should train drivers - especially when the service is so bad?

"I have been catching Connex services instead. It's okay here at Clapham, where the trains are like Tubes. But, if you live further out, it's ridiculous."

Trish Pillay, 24, said: "I work in Canary Wharf so it's pretty inconvenient to have to catch a Connex train to Victoria. It's a hassle and it's going to make me late."

But not everyone was unhappy. At Waterloo, librarian Tony Parkin, 57, said services were better than usual. He said: "They are pushing 12 coaches out in services instead of the usual eight. It's the short trains that cause most of the problems.

"It's been a bit patchy but it works. I've only been standing once since the strike started. To be honest, it's actually running better without the members of the RMT union."

Richard Brown, 34, agreed, saying: "It's not been too bad. It's very quiet." But he added: "I don't think the strikers are entirely justified. They should try everything else first and I don't think they have."