Southern Rail strike: Commuters vent frustration as 1,100 trains axed due to Aslef drivers' overtime ban

Previous strike action: Commuters arrive at London Victoria station
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Hatty Collier29 June 2017

More than 1,100 trains will be axed in the next two days as Southern Rail drivers resume an indefinite overtime ban.

Hundreds of thousands passengers face indefinite disruption after all attempts failed to get Aslef, the train drivers’ union, to call off strike action.

Southern said it was working “round the clock” trying to devise a rescheduled timetable allowing more services to run from Monday – but there were fears this would allow only a few more trains to operate.

There are no fresh peace talks planned meaning no end in sight to the disruption as the 15-month long dispute over driver-only operated (DOO) trains and changes to the role of the guard continues.

Disruption: Passengers cram onto packed Southern Rail trains during previous strike action
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Commuters vented their frustration early on Thursday morning as they squeezed onto the packed trains that were running.

Passenger Leigh Morgan tweeted: “Not even 7am and chaos on Southern Rail thanks to another strike.”

Another commuter named Mark wrote: “You need to do better, half the trains cancelled but no extra coaches on the running ones.”

Elly Sophia said: “Well done Southern Rail cancel the 0704, so now two full 12 carriage trains worth of people have to squeeze on the 0725.”

The fresh disruption came as a commuters’ group was preparing to go to court to seek a judicial review against the beleaguered rail franchise.

The Association of British Commuters (ABC) is challenging the Government's handling of Southern, part of Govia Thameslink Railway after a year of industrial action, staff shortages and other problems.

From midnight, members of the Aslef union vowed to stop working overtime indefinitely in the long-running dispute about driver-only trains and are also being balloted for strikes in a separate row over pay.

Southern said it plans to operate 75 per cent of its weekday services on Thursday and Friday and was working to improve on this number from July 3.

"This will create a timetable with stability and consistency. Passengers are advised to expect a reduced service on certain routes and to allow extra time for their journeys," said a statement.

Passenger services director Angie Doll said: "This action is going to be very inconvenient to our passengers and communities but by putting in this revised timetable we will be able to run a more reliable and consistent service.

"We've been safely running our trains with drivers closing the doors on additional routes since January and have had six months of sustained improvement in service levels and positive passenger feedback.

"We urge Aslef to put an end to their industrial action and allow passengers to get on with their lives."

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said the overtime ban reflected the "total loss of trust and goodwill" between train drivers and the company.

"The shortage of train drivers is wholly down to a lack of recruitment by Southern, who have made no effort to recruit drivers over many years, a point echoed by the government-commissioned Gibb Report last week.

"In fact, responsibility lies with GTR/Southern's managing director, Charles Horton, who has run the company and its predecessors on the cheap for nearly a decade and has always put the interests of shareholders ahead of those of passengers and taxpayers."

The Association of British Commuters said it had unearthed a report completed for the rail industry two years ago which advises against driver-only trains running to unstaffed stations because of the impact on disabled and elderly passengers.

The report says: "There should always be on-board staff available to assist passengers at unstaffed stations."

A spokesman for ABC said: "It is clear that this is a high-quality report and one that was originally written for the benefit of policy-makers and those who work on the railway.

"The near total exclusion of disabled and older people from the driver-only debate has gone on so long that we believe the public has the right to view its recommendations."

The report, On Track For 2020? The Future Of Accessible Rail Travel, has been kept under lock and key, the group said.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union on Southern will stage a 24-hour strike on July 10 in the ongoing dispute over staffing and driver-only trains.

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