Thousands hit by UK rail strike

Thousands of rail passengers faced a chaotic return to work yesterday as a strike crippled some of London's busiest commuter lines. South West Trains warned people not to travel on its network after hundreds of drivers walked out in a growing row between unions and managers.

There were no trains on many routes into London's Waterloo station from across southern England, forcing commuters to find another route to work after the long Bank Holiday weekend.

"Our advice is: do not travel unless you absolutely have to," an SWT spokesman said. About 900 members of the Aslef rail union walked out in a dispute with SWT over the provision of taxis for staff working anti-social shifts.

The row escalated when managers were drafted in to drive trains during a previous strike.

Aslef said it was sorry that passengers would suffer during the strike, but blamed SWT bosses for "trying to score points over the union".

SWT, which operates busy commuter routes into Waterloo from across southwest England, said it had asked managers to drive trains to try to run a normal service for passengers.

SWT said services would resume today. More strikes are planned for September 8 and September 11.

SWT is owned by bus and rail operator Stagecoach Group Plc.