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“I left 45 minutes earlier than I normally do because of the train strike,” said Louise from Claygate, one of the many commuters who struggled in to work on the first day of a month-long strike.
“It was overcrowded, but it got me here,” she told The Independent on arrival at London Waterloo Station.
“Got to get to work, haven’t you?”
Yet around one-quarter of the usual 300,000-plus passengers who travel to Britain’s busiest station each weekday on South Western Railway (SWR) appear to have stayed at home, or found an alternative way to reach their desks.
Members of the RMT union are striking over plans for new trains on SWR which are designed for driver-controlled operation (DCO). The train operator wants to change the role of guards.
1/50 2 December 2019
England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand
Getty
2/50 1 December 2019
A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland
Reuters
3/50 30 November 2019
A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police
PA
4/50 29 November 2019
School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
5/50 28 November 2019
Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November’s dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said
PA
6/50 27 November 2019
The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire
Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS
7/50 26 November 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire
PA
8/50 25 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail
PA
9/50 24 November 2019
Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum
Getty Images
10/50 23 November 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield
PA
11/50 22 November 2019
Gallery assistants adjust ‘The Ancient Town of Uglich’ by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby’s in London
PA
12/50 21 November 2019
A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth
PA
13/50 20 November 2019
After Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty
14/50 19 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan’s Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election
PA
15/50 18 November 2019
Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District
PA
16/50 17 November 2019
Stefanos Tsitsipas lifts the winners trophy after beating Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London
EPA
17/50 16 November 2019
Duke of York, speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis
BBC/PA
18/50 15 November 2019
Brazilian indigenous leader, Kreta Kaingang from the Kaingang People, holds a petition letter with over 200,000 signatures asking the UK government to suspend trade talks with Brazil until the Amazon and its people are protected, as he poses outside 10 Downing Street
AFP via Getty
19/50 14 November 2019
Spanning all four spaces and the corridor of the White Cube Bermondsey gallery Anselm Kiefer’s new exhibition encompasses large-scale painting and installation
Rex Features
20/50 13 November 2019
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wears a pair of mittens that say ‘Pick Pam’, referring to Labour MP Pam Duncan-Glancy (not pictured) as he visits the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow
Getty
21/50 12 November 2019
Head glass conservator Sam Kelly inspects the Angeli Laudantes and Angeli Ministrantes stained glass windows at Salisbury Cathedral as restoration work to clean, conserve and restore the windows, installed in 1879, gets underway
PA
22/50 11 November 2019
Flooding in the village of Fishlake near Doncaster after a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours
PA
23/50 10 November 2019
World War II Supermarine Spitfire fighter performs a flyover over White Cliffs of Dover during Remembrance Sunday celebrations
Reuters
24/50 9 November 2019
Snow falling in Glyn Ceiriog near Llangollen in Denbighshire
Steffan Williams/PA
25/50 8 November 2019
Scottish National Party candidates, including SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford (centre left) and Nicola Sturgeon (centre), with a Brexit message at the party’s General Election campaign launch in Edinburgh
PA
26/50 7 November 2019
Delivery lorry stuck in flood water at Coston Ford, Leicestershire after heavy rainfall in the area
PA
27/50 6 November 2019
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement to announce the general election at Downing Street in London, Britain
Reuters
28/50 5 November 2019
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson speaking at the launch of their general election campaign at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London
PA
29/50 4 November 2019
Pelicans in St James’s Park in central London
AFP/Getty
30/50 3 November 2019
Dancers perform a mass Ghoomar dance during Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square, London
Reuters
31/50 2 November 2019
Campaigners listen as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon addresses a rally calling for Scottish independence in Glasgow
AFP via Getty
32/50 1 November 2019
Police and recovery workers remove a damaged bus from the scene of a crash in Sevenoaks Road, south-east London. A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a person died and 15 others were injured
PA
33/50 31 October 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gestures as launches the party’s election campaign in south London. Britain will go to the polls on December 12
AFP via Getty
34/50 30 October 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon joins Alyn Smith, the SNP’s candidate for Stirling, at the Made in Stirling Store and Creative Hub, during the general election campaign trail
PA
35/50 29 October 2019
A 1264 locomotive travels through an autumn scene along the North York Moors National Park
PA
36/50 28 October 2019
Paul Hayes of Lower Lydbrook ferries children to dry land after the River Wye burst its banks flooding the Gloucestershire village
PA
37/50 27 October 2019
Cosplayers during the third day of London’s Comic Con
PA
38/50 26 October 2019
England fans celebrate after their side beat New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semi-final match in Japan. Eddie Jones’s side won 19-7
PA
39/50 25 October 2019
Meerkats at Blair Drummond Safari Park, Stirling, investigate a carved pumpkin as the park celebrates national pumpkin day on Saturday October 26.
PA
40/50 24 October 2019
A giant inflatable monster, created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas, is unveiled in Manchester ahead of the city’s annual halloween celebrations
PA
41/50 23 October 2019
Thirty-nine bodies have been found in a lorry container in Essex, police have said.
The discovery of 38 adults and one teenager was made at an industrial estate in Thurrock.
Police said they believed the lorry had come from Bulgaria and entered the UK at Holyhead, in Wales, on Saturday.
Essex Police said it had launched a murder investigation after its officers were called to Waterglade Industrial Park, in Grays, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
A 25-year-old-man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder
PA
42/50 22 October 2019
Ships out at sea before the sun rises off the coast of Whitley Bay, Northumberland
PA
43/50 21 October 2019
Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife. The messy display is the culmination of a weekend of festivities where first years say thank you to their more senior student “parents” for mentoring them
PA
44/50 20 October 2019
Wales players celebrate after beating France in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Japan. Warren Gatland’s side had to battle after France’s fast start but capitalised on their rivals’ ill discipline to squeeze into the semi-finals, 20-19
Reuters
45/50 19 October 2019
People gather in London to join the Final Say march for a people’s vote
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
46/50 18 October 2019
Protesters on Whitehall in London during an Extinction Rebellion climate change protest
PA
47/50 17 October 2019
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson shake hands during a news conference after agreeing on a Brexit deal, in Brussels
Reuters
48/50 16 October 2019
A man walks his dog through the fallen leaves in Clarkes Gardens, Allerton in Liverpool
PA
49/50 15 October 2019
Police officers carry away an activist as Extinction Rebellion protesters block a road with a caravan in central London
Reuters
50/50 14 October 2019
Queen Elizabeth II sits with Prince Charles on the Sovereign’s throne ahead of delivering the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament
AFP
1/50 2 December 2019
England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand
Getty
2/50 1 December 2019
A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland
Reuters
3/50 30 November 2019
A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police
PA
4/50 29 November 2019
School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
5/50 28 November 2019
Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November’s dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said
PA
6/50 27 November 2019
The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire
Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS
7/50 26 November 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire
PA
8/50 25 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail
PA
9/50 24 November 2019
Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum
Getty Images
10/50 23 November 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield
PA
11/50 22 November 2019
Gallery assistants adjust ‘The Ancient Town of Uglich’ by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby’s in London
PA
12/50 21 November 2019
A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth
PA
13/50 20 November 2019
After Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty
14/50 19 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan’s Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election
PA
15/50 18 November 2019
Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District
PA
16/50 17 November 2019
Stefanos Tsitsipas lifts the winners trophy after beating Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London
EPA
17/50 16 November 2019
Duke of York, speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis
BBC/PA
18/50 15 November 2019
Brazilian indigenous leader, Kreta Kaingang from the Kaingang People, holds a petition letter with over 200,000 signatures asking the UK government to suspend trade talks with Brazil until the Amazon and its people are protected, as he poses outside 10 Downing Street
AFP via Getty
19/50 14 November 2019
Spanning all four spaces and the corridor of the White Cube Bermondsey gallery Anselm Kiefer’s new exhibition encompasses large-scale painting and installation
Rex Features
20/50 13 November 2019
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wears a pair of mittens that say ‘Pick Pam’, referring to Labour MP Pam Duncan-Glancy (not pictured) as he visits the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow
Getty
21/50 12 November 2019
Head glass conservator Sam Kelly inspects the Angeli Laudantes and Angeli Ministrantes stained glass windows at Salisbury Cathedral as restoration work to clean, conserve and restore the windows, installed in 1879, gets underway
PA
22/50 11 November 2019
Flooding in the village of Fishlake near Doncaster after a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours
PA
23/50 10 November 2019
World War II Supermarine Spitfire fighter performs a flyover over White Cliffs of Dover during Remembrance Sunday celebrations
Reuters
24/50 9 November 2019
Snow falling in Glyn Ceiriog near Llangollen in Denbighshire
Steffan Williams/PA
25/50 8 November 2019
Scottish National Party candidates, including SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford (centre left) and Nicola Sturgeon (centre), with a Brexit message at the party’s General Election campaign launch in Edinburgh
PA
26/50 7 November 2019
Delivery lorry stuck in flood water at Coston Ford, Leicestershire after heavy rainfall in the area
PA
27/50 6 November 2019
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement to announce the general election at Downing Street in London, Britain
Reuters
28/50 5 November 2019
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson speaking at the launch of their general election campaign at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London
PA
29/50 4 November 2019
Pelicans in St James’s Park in central London
AFP/Getty
30/50 3 November 2019
Dancers perform a mass Ghoomar dance during Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square, London
Reuters
31/50 2 November 2019
Campaigners listen as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon addresses a rally calling for Scottish independence in Glasgow
AFP via Getty
32/50 1 November 2019
Police and recovery workers remove a damaged bus from the scene of a crash in Sevenoaks Road, south-east London. A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a person died and 15 others were injured
PA
33/50 31 October 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gestures as launches the party’s election campaign in south London. Britain will go to the polls on December 12
AFP via Getty
34/50 30 October 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon joins Alyn Smith, the SNP’s candidate for Stirling, at the Made in Stirling Store and Creative Hub, during the general election campaign trail
PA
35/50 29 October 2019
A 1264 locomotive travels through an autumn scene along the North York Moors National Park
PA
36/50 28 October 2019
Paul Hayes of Lower Lydbrook ferries children to dry land after the River Wye burst its banks flooding the Gloucestershire village
PA
37/50 27 October 2019
Cosplayers during the third day of London’s Comic Con
PA
38/50 26 October 2019
England fans celebrate after their side beat New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup semi-final match in Japan. Eddie Jones’s side won 19-7
PA
39/50 25 October 2019
Meerkats at Blair Drummond Safari Park, Stirling, investigate a carved pumpkin as the park celebrates national pumpkin day on Saturday October 26.
PA
40/50 24 October 2019
A giant inflatable monster, created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas, is unveiled in Manchester ahead of the city’s annual halloween celebrations
PA
41/50 23 October 2019
Thirty-nine bodies have been found in a lorry container in Essex, police have said.
The discovery of 38 adults and one teenager was made at an industrial estate in Thurrock.
Police said they believed the lorry had come from Bulgaria and entered the UK at Holyhead, in Wales, on Saturday.
Essex Police said it had launched a murder investigation after its officers were called to Waterglade Industrial Park, in Grays, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
A 25-year-old-man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder
PA
42/50 22 October 2019
Ships out at sea before the sun rises off the coast of Whitley Bay, Northumberland
PA
43/50 21 October 2019
Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator’s Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife. The messy display is the culmination of a weekend of festivities where first years say thank you to their more senior student “parents” for mentoring them
PA
44/50 20 October 2019
Wales players celebrate after beating France in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Japan. Warren Gatland’s side had to battle after France’s fast start but capitalised on their rivals’ ill discipline to squeeze into the semi-finals, 20-19
Reuters
45/50 19 October 2019
People gather in London to join the Final Say march for a people’s vote
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
46/50 18 October 2019
Protesters on Whitehall in London during an Extinction Rebellion climate change protest
PA
47/50 17 October 2019
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson shake hands during a news conference after agreeing on a Brexit deal, in Brussels
Reuters
48/50 16 October 2019
A man walks his dog through the fallen leaves in Clarkes Gardens, Allerton in Liverpool
PA
49/50 15 October 2019
Police officers carry away an activist as Extinction Rebellion protesters block a road with a caravan in central London
Reuters
50/50 14 October 2019
Queen Elizabeth II sits with Prince Charles on the Sovereign’s throne ahead of delivering the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament
AFP
The RMT union wants assurances that “the guard will have an integral and guaranteed role in the despatch process,” and insists it is solely concerned about passenger safety and providing assistance.
The new stretch of industrial action is the latest in a long-running sequence of strikes.
The stoppage is set to continue until the New Year, though with a day back at work on 12 December for the general election, and two days off on Christmas Day and Boxing Day – when no trains run anyway.
Even though barely half of the normal trains were running on lines from Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey and southwest London, many commuters reported that their journey was no more difficult than usual.
Warnings that commuters might need to queue outside stations for rush-hour trains did not materialise.
On a test run from Britain’s busiest railway junction, Clapham Junction, to the busiest station, Waterloo, made at 7am – roughly the start of the rush-hour – there were few problems.
Platform 10 at Clapham Junction is normally one of the busiest in Europe, with departures every three minutes to Waterloo. Even though this fell to one every five or 10 minutes, there was no great crowding.
Elsewhere, trains from Reading via Wokingham, as well as Windsor via Staines, were very crowded, but not significantly worse than usual.
Reports from further down the line indicated more problems. Many ticket offices were closed – at at Farnham, a commuter reported, the ticket machine was broken.
One train from Tisbury was reported to be cancelled, but mostly the emergency timetable ran according to plan.
Keith from Surbiton said: “The strike caused me very few problems this morning. As luck would have it, the rescheduled train is more convenient for me, and half as full.”
But when asked for advice to the warring parties in the dispute, Louise from Claygate urged: “Talk to each other and work it out. Please.”
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