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Southern rail passengers face week of disruption because of RMT strike Five-day strike starts on Southern rail
(about 2 hours later)
Hundreds of thousands of rail passengers face a week of travel disruption because of a five-day strike in an escalating dispute over the role of conductors. A week of extreme disruption for hundreds of thousands of Southern commuters has started with a five-day strike cutting 40% of services on one of Britain’s busiest rail franchises.
The walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Southern rail begins on Monday following the collapse of talks aimed at resolving the long-running row. The RMT union said strike action was “rock solid”, with commuters experiencing extreme crowding on the trains that were running, although some reports suggested many people had not even attempted to travel in to London on Monday.
Picket lines are expected across the train operator’s network, including London Victoria and Brighton. The strike will run until Friday night, in an escalating dispute over the role of conductors. Talks aimed at resolving the row collapsed at Acas last Friday in mutual recrimination.
An emergency timetable is in place, with Southern saying it will run 60% of normal services this week, rather than the 85% it has been running since last month in an attempt to provide a more accurate timetable. Some areas in Sussex will have no trains at all.
RMT members formed picket lines at rail depots and others were expected later at London Victoria and Brighton.
Related: Southern trains crisis: seven factors that threw services off the railsRelated: Southern trains crisis: seven factors that threw services off the rails
An emergency timetable will be in place, with Southern saying it will run 60% of normal services this week. But some areas in Sussex will have no trains, while services that are operating are expected to be more packed than usual. The union’s general secretary, Mick Cash, said he shared the frustration of passengers, but said: “I can report that the strike action this morning is rock solid across the Southern rail network as we fight to put rail safety before the profits of the failed [Southern owner] Govia Thameslink operation.
Trains have been disrupted for weeks because of industrial action and a shortage of staff, which the company blamed on high levels of employee sickness. “This action has been forced on us by the arrogance and inaction of Govia Thameslink and the government, who have made it clear that they have no interest in resolving this dispute or in tackling the daily chaos on Southern.
The union has accused the government of sabotaging last week’s talks at the conciliation service Acas. “Our fight is with the company and the government who have dragged this franchise into total meltdown.”
Southern’s owner, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said it had offered new assurances on jobs to the union, although it is pressing ahead with plans to change the role of conductors later this month. Govia Thameslink said it had offered new assurances on jobs to the union, although it is pressing ahead with plans to change the role of conductors this month. The chief executive, Charles Horton, said the strike was “completely unacceptable, unjustified and unnecessary”.
The RMT general secretary, Mick Cash, said: “This action has been forced on us by the arrogance and inaction of Govia Thameslink and the government, who have made it clear that they have no interest in resolving this dispute or in tackling the daily chaos on Southern. In a message to passengers, he said: “We want to run new and modern trains to provide more space and capacity and we want to make essential changes to how we operate, including giving our drivers responsibility for closing train doors so that onboard staff can focus on helping you during your journey.”
“Our fight is with the company and the government who have dragged this franchise into total meltdown. We share the anger and frustration of passengers and we cannot sit back while jobs and safety are compromised on these dangerously overcrowded trains.” The BBC reported that Brighton station was quieter than usual in the morning rush hour, even for school holidays, suggesting many had altered their travel plans or worked from home. With services cancelled, London Victoria was also relatively quiet.
GTR passenger service director Angie Doll said: “We have gone the extra mile with our compromise offer, but the RMT has made it clear they are not prepared to negotiate. They did not want to discuss the role of the onboard supervisor and remain rigidly opposed to evolving the role of onboard staff to focus more on customers. However, in some suburban stations crowding was apparently worse than ever. Jonathan Ricketts, 34, a commuter from Reigate, said the rail schedule appeared to have been altered overnight and there was extreme overcrowding. He said: “When I went to bed I checked the national rail app which said there was a train at 06:48 from Redhill. I woke up early and saw that it is not running. The 7:11 is absolutely packed … A couple travelling in together are split as one gets on but the other can’t fit on. Thirty-eight minutes is going to feel a very, very long time before I get off. It is worse than a normal strike day as people can’t work from home as there are five days of it. It’s a lot more busy than usual.”
“We are deeply disappointed and angry on behalf of our passengers at this stance, which will cause misery for our passengers and untold damage to the local economy in the south-east. The RMT’s strike is unnecessary, unacceptable and unjustified.” The passengers’ group for the Redhill and Reigate district in Surrey, one of the worst hit in Southern disruption, said the RMT and the company were holding users in contempt. The group’s spokesman, Stephen Trigg, said: “Rail users are again going to find total failure in trying to go about their daily lives. Last trains this week to Redhill are around 7pm … All in all another heavy slap in the face for the poor, tired and frustrated commuters.”