Commuters into London faced a chaotic start to the week as overrunning engineering works blocked some South Western Railway train lines into the capital’s busiest station.
Passengers were asked to delay the start of their journeys as nearly 200 services from Surrey into London Waterloo were cancelled or delayed, with those travelling advised to use other services “at no extra cost”.
All lines have now reopened, but the operator says disruption is still likely and many trains are still set to be cancelled, changed or delayed until the end of the day.
It follows a reduced service over the weekend as strikes by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) affected SWR services.
Disgruntled passengers complained fiercely about the service on Monday morning. “Absolutely incredible disruption from south western railway this morning. Do no travel, brilliant advice,” wrote one user.
Another customer complained that the refund website was crashing.
“Wouldn’t expect anything less from a company that can’t run a consistent and timely rail service for more than a few consecutive days at a time. Trains are an absolute shambles this morning,” the customer wrote.
Overrun by complaints, the train operator said in a statement: “Due to overrunning Network Rail engineering works between London Waterloo and Surbiton all lines are blocked.
“Passengers are advised to delay the start of their journeys this morning. We are sorry if your tweet was not responded to.”
A spokesman added: “We are sorry for the disruption and will update our website as soon as we have a clearer picture of when lines may reopen.”
Network Rail apologised for the disruption and said in a statement: “We are working hard to return the train service to normal as soon as possible, but passengers should expect serious disruption for the rest of the day and continue to check before they travel.”
Meanwhile, a petition is underway demanding a public inquiry into the company’s managing director, Andy Mellors.
“As a commuter and regular user of South Western Railway I need answers from Westminster as to why privatised companies such as this can get away with such an increasingly appalling service!” read the petition description by creator Joseph Noble.
The RMT union, which supports railway workers, has issued fresh calls for transport secretary Chris Grayling to resign as they dubbed the disruption “Monday Meltdown”.
The said the chaos was “just another example of the fragmentation and division of Britain’s railways” as budgets are being “hacked to the bare bones”.
General Secretary Mick Cash said: “What we need is reintegration and a coherent system with all elements of the rail operation working together in one publicly owned framework with investment rather than exploitation as the watchword.
“While the crisis on our railway deepens the transport secretary Chris Grayling is marked absent while he ponders his self-interest and a possible resignation from the May government. He should go, and he should go now.”
Northern Rail is being hit with strikes every Saturday until the end of the year, while South Western train services are among a number of train operators affected by industrial action amid a two-year dispute with the RMT over train guards. The union says guards keep the public safe on trains.
A spokesman at the Department for Transport said: “We share the frustrations of passengers trying to get into London this morning. The disruption is unacceptable, and we are seeking an urgent explanation from Network Rail as to why their engineering works at Surbiton have overrun.
“In the meantime, we would urge passengers to check with their operator before attempting to travel.”