Pam, 66, uses the train every three weeks and finds they “are normally quite efficient”.
“I’ve got an elderly mum, and I come every three weeks to see her.
“She is so bitterly disappointed if I don’t turn up,” she said. “I feel bad if I’m letting her down.”
Asked about the ongoing dispute between union bosses and the government, Pam said: “It’s all about communication and it’s all about being fair.
“If people can’t accept being fair, they shouldn’t be in the job that they’re doing.”
Simon, 44, bought a season ticket pass this week which cannot be refunded, but can be used on CrossCountry services.
“It’s not the end of the world, but I will have to use a different time of train and it gets me in later than I normally would do,” he said.
Simon said that the government and unions “need to make a clear plan and stick to it”.
Stan, 21, commutes to university every day and maintains “train drivers aren’t being paid enough”.
He is resigned to the additional challenges he may have to face on his journey.
“It might cause a bit of disruption and put time onto my commute, but ultimately it’s just something that happens.
“Sometimes I’ve had to look for alternative transport options, and sometimes I’ve just not had to go in.
“You’ve just got to find a way around these things, I guess.”
Commenting on previous strike by Aslef in January, Transport Secretary Mark Harper wrote on X: “The taxpayer protected the jobs of train drivers during the pandemic, and Aslef now repay those same taxpayers by disrupting their journeys.
“When some say get round the table, that means even more taxpayers’ money to Aslef when there is already an offer on the table.”
