Leaves pile misery on rail-strike lines

SOUTHERN Rail bosses risked angering passengers even more yesterday after admitting that axed services will not be restored until mid-December because of ‘autumn leaf-fall’.

Commuters have endured months of disruption and strikes, with train guards staging another three day walk-out this week.

But this time stray leaves – not militant trade union bosses – have been blamed for cancelled and delayed services on the line.

One union boss described it as an ‘Alice in Wonderland excuse’.

Southern’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway axed 33 daily services on the Gatwick Express route when it introduced a reduced emergency timetable in July.

It has issued a statement reassuring passengers that 60 Southern services would be restored to the timetable from this coming Monday and a further 46 would follow on October 31. But it said the cancelled Gatwick Express services ‘will not return until December 12 as part of autumn leaf-fall arrangements’. The company said: ‘During the leaf-fall period, with challenging slippery rail conditions, trains take longer to reach their destinations, leading to congestion, cancellations and delays.’

The rail operator added that from Monday until December 9, weekday Southern and Gatwick Express trains arriving or departing from London Victoria and London Bridge may have journey times extended by between one and three minutes.

Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, said: ‘What do Southern’s bosses put in their tea?

‘This is pure Alice in Wonderland stuff – fewer trains and longer journey times to improve service.

‘It is yet another piece of makebelieve spin from Southern’s imperious, out-of-touch management.’

But Southern Rail added that other rail operators also run slower trains during the ‘leaf fall period’.