Stations were quieter than expected, but passengers complained of packed trains and a sense of hopelessness at being caught in the middle of the bitter dispute.
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He said that ministers, officials, Southern and the RMT should stay in talks until the long-running dispute was finally resolved.
Mr Cash said: “We were within an inch of making progress towards boxing off a deal with Southern in Acas talks on Friday that was based on the offer from ScotRail, an offer that enabled us to suspend all industrial action in the ScotRail guards dispute”.
“Our fight is with the company and the Government who have dragged this franchise into total meltdown”.
A safety row over who opens and closes the train doors.
Trains have been disrupted for weeks because of industrial action and a shortage of staff, which the company has blamed on high levels of sickness.
Charles Horton, chief executive of Southern, said he was “deeply sorry” for any inconvenience caused.
Southern’s operating company, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said about 90% of the much-reduced timetable ran to schedule in the morning peak, a better performance than many ordinary days in recent weeks.
Bruce Williamson, a spokesman for the Railfuture passenger group, said: “There is generally a problem with overcrowding and resources on the railway, so then adding on a strike is a double whammy for customers”.
General Secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT will not sit back while almost 200 members’ jobs are under threat and also conditions and safety are put at risk by a franchise which is clearly in financial trouble”.
During mediation talks last week, the union said it had offered to call off the strike if GTR promised there would be a second staff member on trains while negotiations continued.
Southern wants to extend the use of driver-only operated trains, reducing the safety role the conductors play. Talks broke down last Friday between GTR and union bosses before an agreement was reached along similar lines to a deal in Scotland with Abellio. It has rejected the union’s claims that trains would be less safe.
This afternoon (Monday 8 August) Alex Foulds, Southern’s passenger services director, said: “We would like to thank our passengers for the patience and understanding they are showing during this unnecessary strike and we apologise to them for the disruption they are experiencing today”.
Under a revised timetable, the operator has said it plans to run nearly 60% of its normal services from Monday 8 August to Friday 12 August, rather than the 85% it has been running since last month.
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