The night 200 angry commuters made their WAGN roll

It was one of those wonderful moments. Somehow the passengers on the 18:42 Moorgate train on Wednesday banded together and won a small victory against their rail company and its rotten service.

It was one of those wonderful moments. Somehow the passengers on the 18:42 Moorgate train on Wednesday banded together and won a small victory against their rail company and its rotten service.

I have to use the service run by the WAGN (West Anglia Great Northern) company from commuter-belt Hertfordshire to and from Moorgate in the City of London. Every day, I drag myself to the station and wait. Damp days I get wet, cold days I shiver. Some days trains don't turn up. Most days the trains are late. Often they are so full that if you get in you are forced to hold your breath until the next stop. We passengers have fallen into a cattle-like attitude. We are resigned to WAGN trains following the commands of an unknown power, not those of the timetable. We also know the man with the Tannoy will not let us know why.

On Wednesday, for a short time that changed. After the first stretch, I had taken the (late-running) service from Moorgate to Welwyn Garden. When the train arrived at Finsbury Park in north London we were told it would not stop at all stations, but go straight to Potters Bar because we were late.

The platform filled with 200 tired and irate commuters. A crowd surrounded the staff office and demanded to know why. The WAGN official said the guard was over his time and had to go home. We all wanted to go home. We were all tired and this was one delay too many. Men in pin-striped suits blocked the train's doors from closing.

They said: "This train must stop at all stations." The WAGN man said: "But there is another train five minutes behind this one." They said: "There's no way we will all fit into that. This train is empty and it must stop at all stations."

Minutes later, a manager blustered in. "Who is blocking the doors?" he demanded. "Everybody," we said. He said: "You are holding up the entire line. If you don't let this train go we'll suspend all services. I'll call the police." We said: "Yeh, call the police. Let them arrest us all."

That was too much for WAGN. There was a pause, then an announcement. "This train will now stop at all stations to Welwyn Garden City," said the disembodied voice. We cheered. A small step for WAGN but a big step for passenger power.