COMMUTERS complain that Connex trains are filthy, overcrowded and invariably late but their long-suffering passengers hold out little hope of improvement under a new operator.

With the congestion charge deterring many from driving into the capital, most of the stoical commuters and day-trippers arriving at London Bridge station yesterday were resigned to sticking with what they felt was an expensive train service that bore no comparison with rail links in Europe and the United States.

Even those who dared to dream of a more punctual, cleaner journey felt that it was likely to happen only if the railways were renationalised and received massive investment.

Horror stories abounded. Several passengers reported two-hour waits for journeys that should have taken half an hour. Others wearily recalled racing back from the West End to catch the last train home, only for it to be cancelled for no apparent reason.

And most passengers admitted that they routinely left home half an hour early to allow time for delays.

One man described returning home after a hard day’s work in a carriage “that looked as though someone had urinated in the corner, with sandwiches and stale food flung all over it and the seats tossed about the place.”

Last week Michael Walker, 42, a banker, was delayed for two hours by cancelled trains. His journey home to Hayes normally takes 20 minutes. “It’s a joke and it’s a disgrace,” he said.

Richard Olufeko, 45, a property investor on his way to his Canary Wharf office, was running behind schedule because his train had been “late as usual this morning”. He said: “There’s been no change since they received £58 million of public money last year. You’re always packed in like sardines and you always have to leave an hour for what should be a half-hour journey. Sometimes I think it would be better to scrap privatisation. It’s not working.”

Paul Rogers, 69, a retired regular commuter from Orpington, Kent, travelling to London to visit Covent Garden, said: “The only way that the situation is going to improve is if the Government gives it (the rail network) back to British Rail and puts a lot more money into it.”

But Richard Knowles, 53, a teacher, was wary of renationalisation. “My worst experiences on this line were when it was still government-run. You used to have horrendous waits with hundreds of people on the concourse staring up at a blank information board.”

Perhaps the enduring despair of passengers was best reflected by Dennis Gibbs, 67, a safety consultant. He said: 'It's good news that Connex have lost the franchise, but I don't think it will improve things.”

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