Commuters on Monday called for an end to “nightmare” journeys as they were hit again by rush-hour delays and cancellations - while facing another Tube strike on Thursday.
Rail firms other than Greater Anglia failed to restore a full service, despite the RMT having called off three days of strikes last Friday afternoon.
GTR (GoVia Thameslink Railway), the UK’s biggest rail firm, was unable to run a full timetable on Thameslink, Great Northern or Southern services.
In common with South Western Railway, many of its trains were running at reduced frequencies and due to end around 7pm on Monday – and not restart before 7am on Tuesday.
However, Thameslink services to Luton, Bedford, Gatwick airport and Brighton were due to continue until around midnight on Monday.
At Victoria, passengers were told that Southern and Southeastern trains on Monday evening would finish early. The last train to Epsom Downs, in the Surrey commuter belt, is 5.30pm, as is the last Sutton service. The last Victoria train to Brighton via Gatwick departs at 9.30pm.
Jacob Rees, 33, a software engineer, said: “I come in from Surrey and I’ve been told that my last train is much earlier than usual. It’s just an ongoing nightmare which must end.
“Everyone has just started going back to the office after covid it’s no good for the productivity of the country. With the tube strike on Thursday on top of everything it’s getting beyond a joke.”
Carla Moncalvi, 23, who works in hospitality, said: “I come in on the Brighton line and to be honest the delays are unbelievable. I work in a restaurant so I have to go to work. I’m told there are no late trains so I will probably have to sleep on a friend’s floor. We pay these high tickets prices and for what?”
Ben Richards, 48, who works in property development, said: “I commute from Surrey. I’m encouraging my workers to go back to the office but it’s just less productive. Enough is enough.”
Great Northern, which runs services into King’s Cross and Moorgate, advised passengers to “only travel if absolutely necessary”. Its last trains to Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City leave around 6pm.
South Western Railway said its services out of Waterloo would end by around 7pm and were likely to be very busy. Avanti West Coast and London North Eastern railway were running reduced services on the West Coast Main Line and East Coast Main Line.
But Greater Anglia said it was running a full timetable after working “flat out” with Network Rail over the weekend.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We’re very pleased to have been able to reinstate our full service for Monday – although there may be a few alterations in the morning.
“Switching back to a normal timetable at such short notice is not a simple operation, due to the complexities of timetabling which has to be co-ordinated with other train companies and Network Rail, plus the rostering of ours and Network Rail’s staff.”
More than 10,000 RMT members working on the Tube and London Overground are due to walk out on Thursday.
This is likely to effectively shut the Tube network. TfL has advised passengers not to travel as it expects “limited or no service”.
Overground trains are expected to run but may suffer last-minute changes and may not stop at stations shared with the Underground.
The Elizabeth line, which began running a seven-day service yesterday and the first “through trains” from Heathrow and Shenfield into central London, will run as normal on Thursday.
