Mass disruption and hours of delays hit commuters at Surbiton station Tuesday (June 18) following strike action on South Western Railway (SWR) services.

Rail users at the station reported an hour or more of queuing on Tuesday morning just to get into the station itself (pictured) as long train delays led to a backlog of passengers hoping to complete journeys to and from the station.

Others took to social media lamenting the absence of sufficient replacement services at the station.

"It felt very un-organised, one person trying to deal with everyone's queries and he didn't seem to have a straight answer," said 29-year-old Adam Neal-Jones, who posted a video to Twitter in conversation with Press Association (PA).

"The queue was surprisingly orderly and people were joining it with little qualm in a very British way," he added.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union who called the strike said they were "solidly supported" and would likely be downing tools for five days in the long-running dispute with SWR over guards on trains.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT members are standing rock solid again this morning on South Western Railway 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.

"RMT has campaigned relentlessly for the principle of putting safety on the railway first and the current stalemate over the safety-critical role of the guard on SWR trains cannot be allowed to drag on any longer.

"Our members have been left with no choice but to go ahead with strike action throughout this week.

"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," he said.

This Is Local London: Image: Paige Duller Image: Paige Duller

Meanwhile, SWR apologised to all those affected by the industrial action and subsequent disruption, and disputed RMT's assertion that the strike had been unavoidable.

Responding to a request for comment from the Comet, a spokesperson for SWR said: "We are sorry that customers faced long queues at Surbiton station this morning.

"While we are doing all we can to keep passengers moving during this unnecessary industrial action, Surbiton station is one of our busiest stations and we need to keep passengers safe by controlling access to the platforms.

"Passengers are strongly advised to avoid busy peak periods and travel on earlier or later trains because of the reduction in services at key stations like Surbiton.

"We are looking to see if we can improve the numbers services calling at Surbiton station in order to minimise further disruption during this strike action."