I think the train drivers ought to get their act together and think more about the customers than themselves

Thomas Woods

In Glasgow, software engineer Fraser Cook said the strike was "outrageous".

"I'm a season ticket holder who pays them �220 a month to take me to work and they don't even do that," said the 27-year-old, from Edinburgh.

"They should sack all the train drivers and hire new ones. There's a lot of people who would like to work for �23,000 to drive a train."

Scaffolder Thomas Woods, 39, was forced to take the bus to his work in Port Glasgow.

He said: "I'm supposed to start work at 0800 GMT and I'm going to be getting in late because of this. It's costing us money as well.

Sympathy

"To be quite honest, I think the train drivers ought to get their act together and think more about the customers than themselves."

However, there was more sympathy for the drivers from Carol Fairfield, 24, an account manager who commutes from Glasgow to Edinburgh every day.

"It's going to be very inconvenient for me, but I totally understand it if this is what needs to happen," she said.

Passengers are seeking alternatives to rail travel

"I think the pay rise is needed, but they should maybe come and go a bit."

Dorothy Senior, from Auchterarder, was among those waiting at Edinburgh's Waverley Station for a GNER train to London.

The food company technical manager had been forced to drive to the Scottish capital from her home in Perthshire.

"I go to London every couple of months, and normally I would be able to get the train from Dunblane to Edinburgh," she said.

"I can sympathise with the need for a reasonable salary but at the moment the railways are in such trouble anyway, the act of providing a good service needs to be taken on board before they can expect to get wage settlements."

It's going to be very inconvenient for me, but I totally understand it if this is what needs to happen

Carol Fairfield

Dutch tourists Stephan Zeylemaker and Hans Muller were on their second day of a trip to Scotland.

Mr Zeylemaker, 39, said they had been told they could not get a train to their planned destination, the Hermitage in Dunkeld - and ended up hiring a car instead.

"The train service is not very good at home, but is not as bad as this," he said.

"They went on strike last year against changes to their operation, and they got what they wanted."

Mr Muller, 39, said he was "sympathetic" towards the drivers, but added: "I don't think striking is good."