Union brings 1 in 4 Southern trains to a halt

THOUSANDS of commuters faced fresh travel misery yesterday as an overtime ban by drivers caused a quarter of Southern rail services to be cancelled.

The protest – orchestrated by the Aslef union – is the latest twist in a dispute over giving control for opening and closing train doors to drivers rather than guards.

The ban will continue indefinitely, with Southern planning to run 75 per cent of its 2,200 weekday services.

Initially this means about 550 will be cancelled – but the train operator says it hopes to run more from next week.

The revised timetable affects services throughout the Home Counties. Off-peak Gatwick Express services between Brighton and the airport have been cancelled too, with a limited service instead.

The unions claim the move to give drivers responsibility over closing doors is unsafe, despite the fact this system has been approved by independent safety watchdogs and been operating on Britain’s railways for decades.

Aslef members are also being balloted for strikes in a pay row which could see all Southern services suspended.

And the RMT union has organised a strike of Southern guards on July 10.

The latest blow for passengers came as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was instructed by a High Court judge to decide within 14 days whether rail bosses or unions were to blame for the disruption on Southern. The Association of British Commuters had argued the Government was taking too long to decide if the disruption was beyond Southern’s control.