Royal Ascot racegoers hit by strike action as perfect storm of walkouts and weather warning cause rail misery

Hundreds of thousands of rail passengers and Royal Ascot racegoers were today hit by strike action.

The RMT began five days of consecutive strikes, forcing nearly 600 trains a day to be cancelled with hundreds more delayed on routes served by South Western Railways to and from Waterloo.

At the same time, SWR issued an email warning travellers of the threat of torrential rain and lightning strikes causing more delays and cancellations. The storm is set to sweep east across Hampshire later today, peaking between 8pm and 9pm.

Commuters using Waterloo, London Bridge, Cannon Street, Victoria, Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street were set to be worst affected because the storm was predicted to sweep across the southern corner of the UK.

Two other major commuter operators, Southeastern and Southern, were also likely to be hit.

SWR said in the email: “Extreme weather can have a significant impact. When lightning strikes a rail the high voltage can damage sensitive electronic signalling equipment.”

The rail company said there was a reduced service on most routes due to the walkout by hundreds of RMT train guards in their continuing dispute over who controls the doors and driver-only operation.

Hundreds of commuters queued around the block at Surbiton station this morning.

IT analyst Shaun Ferguson, 46, returned home after failing to get on a train. He said: “For a rail union to bring South Western to its knees by strike action is pretty appalling.”

Some lines will not have any service for the duration of the strikes which last until midnight on Saturday.

SWR usually carries more than 300,000 passengers a day on 1,700 trains. It is understood the strike has halted more than a third of trains.

The RMT and SWR remain at loggerheads and there is no sign of any new meetings or peace deal.

An SWR spokesman accused the union of “causing needless disruption”, but added: “We remain committed to finding a solution that will help us build a better railway for our customers.”

Mick Cash, the RMT leader, said: “RMT members are standing rock solid again this morning on SWR in the long-running fight for safety, security and access on our trains, while the private train company sends out the signal that it is prepared to gamble with their passengers well-being in the name of profit.”