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| First three-day Southern Rail strike begins | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The first of a series of planned strikes on Southern trains is under way despite the RMT union advising its members to sign the rail company's new contracts. | |
| The three-day strike began at midnight and is set to continue until Friday morning. | |
| The RMT has held a series of walk-outs since April in the dispute over the role of guards on Southern services. | The RMT has held a series of walk-outs since April in the dispute over the role of guards on Southern services. |
| Southern said it would run about 61% of its normal timetable. | Southern said it would run about 61% of its normal timetable. |
| Southern strike: Live updates | Southern strike: Live updates |
| Passengers have been venting their frustration on social media. | |
| Fewer trains | |
| Martin Still tweeted: "I've forgotten what they are arguing about and bored with it all now - perhaps just sack everyone, managers and strikers and start again." | |
| Train services between Brighton and Gatwick Airport via Balcombe are being disrupted because of over running engineering work as a result of a broken down engineers' train. | |
| The line has now reopened, but Southern warned passengers disruption would continue "all morning". | |
| On Monday, the company had made a last-minute legal bid to stop the strikes. | |
| But, it warned, many routes would have fewer trains, while some routes would have no service at all. | |
| Another 11 days of action planned is before Christmas. | |
| Strike dates announced by the RMT: | Strike dates announced by the RMT: |
| The RMT revealed it had received a legal challenge just hours before the start of the walkout but said the strike would go ahead while it examined the details of the paperwork. | The RMT revealed it had received a legal challenge just hours before the start of the walkout but said the strike would go ahead while it examined the details of the paperwork. |
| Mayor of Seaford Lindsay Freeman said the south coast town's summer tourist trade had dropped and some commuters had given up jobs in London because of the strikes. | |
| Ms Freeman said she was very concerned about the impact of a strike planned for 5 November, when up to 40,000 people travel to bonfire celebrations in the East Sussex town of Lewes. | Ms Freeman said she was very concerned about the impact of a strike planned for 5 November, when up to 40,000 people travel to bonfire celebrations in the East Sussex town of Lewes. |
| Southern, which runs trains linking parts of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire with London, is introducing driver-only operation and wants conductors to accept new on-board supervisor positions. | Southern, which runs trains linking parts of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire with London, is introducing driver-only operation and wants conductors to accept new on-board supervisor positions. |
| A spokesman said: "On Friday they told their conductor members to accept a deal, and then they plan to strike against it. | A spokesman said: "On Friday they told their conductor members to accept a deal, and then they plan to strike against it. |
| "It is a situation which will leave our passengers baffled. | "It is a situation which will leave our passengers baffled. |
| "We will consider all possible options to stop the strike and that includes a legal challenge." | "We will consider all possible options to stop the strike and that includes a legal challenge." |
| The company said it was currently finalising the service it would offer on 5 November. | The company said it was currently finalising the service it would offer on 5 November. |