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| Passengers disrupted over Southern conductors' strike | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Passengers on Southern railway are facing more than 24 hours of disruption due to a strike by conductors over their role and driver-only trains. | Passengers on Southern railway are facing more than 24 hours of disruption due to a strike by conductors over their role and driver-only trains. |
| Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out from 11:00 BST, with services being reduced from 07:30 BST. | |
| Regional organiser Paul Cox said it had been left with "no alternative". | Regional organiser Paul Cox said it had been left with "no alternative". |
| Southern said many routes would have no services at all and queuing systems would be in operation at stations. | Southern said many routes would have no services at all and queuing systems would be in operation at stations. |
| Live updates on the strike | |
| In a message to passengers, Southern said: "You may have a long wait before you are able to board a train. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee to get you to your destination." | |
| Southern rail strike: Affected routes | Southern rail strike: Affected routes |
| Southern, which is owned by Govia Thameslink Railway and operates in Sussex, Surrey and parts of London, Kent and Hampshire, plans changes to the role of conductors which will see responsibility for operating the doors switched to the driver. | |
| It said there would be no job losses or cuts in salary and the changes would make staff more visible. | It said there would be no job losses or cuts in salary and the changes would make staff more visible. |
| The RMT said passenger numbers had "increased dramatically" and conductors were "the eyes and ears preventing a major tragedy on the platforms and carriages". | The RMT said passenger numbers had "increased dramatically" and conductors were "the eyes and ears preventing a major tragedy on the platforms and carriages". |
| Mr Cox said the union had offered to discuss changes to the role "that would retain the operational and safety commitment from the conductors, but it fell on deaf ears". | Mr Cox said the union had offered to discuss changes to the role "that would retain the operational and safety commitment from the conductors, but it fell on deaf ears". |
| The Conservative MP for Wealden, Nus Ghani, told BBC Sussex: "The changes proposed, driver-only-operated trains, are happening on a third of the network already. | |
| "I do not remember the last time I got on a train and there was someone to help me physically, on or off. Drivers can manage the doors," she added. | |
| Southern's passenger services director, Alex Foulds, said the strike was "totally unnecessary". | Southern's passenger services director, Alex Foulds, said the strike was "totally unnecessary". |
| He warned passengers to "check before they travel". | He warned passengers to "check before they travel". |
| "Some routes will have a reduced service, some routes will have no train at all, and some trains will stop operating at about 6pm," he said. | "Some routes will have a reduced service, some routes will have no train at all, and some trains will stop operating at about 6pm," he said. |
| Two further 24-hour strikes are planned at the same time on 10 and 12 May. | Two further 24-hour strikes are planned at the same time on 10 and 12 May. |