A strike across Southern railways from Tuesday means two days of major travel chaos, rail chiefs warned.
The Southern dispute is the worst for two decades and will see trains cancelled and delayed across the south, Kent and Sussex and serving major routes into London.
But a second industrial dispute threating strikes over four days - also starting on Tuesday - on the busy Piccadilly line was called off later this afternoon.
A 24-hour strike on Southern will cripple train services across Kent and Sussex into London all tomorrow and all of Wednesday.
The Southern company website lists numerous routes with no service at all or drastically reduced.
The RMT, largest of the rail unions, has ordered a walkout by 400 onboard conductors – without whom trains cannot run – in a long running dispute over changes to working conditions and safety claims.
Sir Nicholas Soames, Tory grandee MP for Mid Sussex whose constituency covers the heart of the Southern routes, Tweeted the walkout was “really appalling behaviour by reckless and selfish unions which will cause dreadful inconvenience for rail users.”
Southern users face even worse disruption next month with back-to-back 24-hour strikes spread over four days in the same week from Tuesday 10 May.
Southern – owned by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) - plans major changes to the roll of conductor which will see responsibility for the doors switched to the driver – the union says this is unsafe and is opposed to driver-only operation.
In a full page advertisement in today’s Evening Standard Charles Horton, Southern CEO, apologises for the “totally unnecessary” strike.
Mick Cash, the RMT leader, countered: “The French-backed owners of the basket-case GTR franchise seem to be determined to wage war on their staff and passengers alike and it is about time the politicians stepped-in.”
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