Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members walked out at midnight yesterday over a long-running dispute over guards resulting in agonising disruptions from those traveling to London Waterloo from Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and Devon. The firm announced there will be no service to and from Bristol Temple Meads at all today, prompting commuters to vent their fury at the operator on social media.One commenter said: “Those striking should be sacked, enough people wanting work out there #sackthemall #southwesternrailway.”

Another raged: “A 5 day strike on South Western Railways is a disgrace and should be stopped.

“When will there [sic] dinosaur units realise that the people they are upsetting PAY THEIR WAGES! It’s time to make these strikes illegal #southwesternrailway #rmt.”

Another added: “@RMTunion disgusting strikes held this week between you and #southwesternrailway, bang your heads together and stop messing with the public!

“Both of you cause misery to millions now this, should just get new ppl in who need and want a job to pay bills… #idiots #rmt union.”

South Western Railway attempted to organise rail replacement bus services to ship commuters to and from work but sparked more anger when busses failed to turn up on time, did not turn up at all or were far too small for an entire carriage worth of people to fit on.

One disgruntled woman posted a picture of a single-decker bus that arrived to replace what should have been a 10-carriage commuter train.

She said: “A 10-carriage train at 6.53 has been replaced by this! FFS you are joking!

“This is an absolute disgrace. Please can everyone re-tweet this so that it gets seen by everyone!”

South Western Railway say industrial action is “unnecessary” and branded the union “cynical” for timing the strikes with Royal Ascot.

The walkout comes as RMT accuse the train operator of failing to ensure they will keep guards on trains.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Our members have been left with no choice but to go ahead with strike action.

“They are angry and frustrated that despite suspending action in good faith, and entering into talks in a positive and constructive manner, South Western Railway have dragged their heels and failed to bolt down an agreement that matches up to our expectations on the guard guarantee.

“Worse than that, the company have refused to give assurances on the future operational role of the guard, fuelling fears amongst our members of a stitch up.

“That situation has been compounded by an insistence that future operational models will be governed by the protection of company profits and not the safety of the travelling public.

“For more than three months we have sought to negotiate a conclusion to this dispute and it is wholly down to the management side that the core issue of the safety critical competencies and the role of the guard has not been signed off. It is because of that crucial failure by SWR that we have had no option but to lift the suspension and move back into strike action.”

A South Western Railway spokesman said: “It’s very disappointing that despite having had dates in the diary for what we hoped would be further constructive talks, the RMT union decided to call disruptive strike action over the course of five days.

“The company said it met with the union last week and agreed to arrange new dates to continue those talks.

“However, they seem insistent on going ahead with their unnecessary strike which will impact our customers and colleagues alike.

“The RMT has always said it wanted us to keep the guard on every train which is what we have offered as part of a framework agreement. We want to move the conversation on to how we operate our new trains and take advantage of the new technology on board to benefit our customers.

“We remain committed to finding a solution that will help us build a better railway for everyone. We will do everything we can to keep customers moving during these strikes but would like to apologise for the disruption this unnecessary action will cause.

“Passengers are strongly advised to plan their travel in advance as services are likely to be busier than usual because of the strike action. Rail replacement services and ticket acceptance on other bus and rail networks have been organised where possible, whilst fans attending events at Twickenham, Hampton Court, Royal Ascot, and elsewhere, are advised to allow extra time for their travel.

“Customers will be able to see amendments to their train services, as currently published on our website.”

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