TRAINS AXED AS CREWS READY TO GO’
A TRAIN operator hit by industrial action from its drivers has been accused of cancelling trains even when crews are available.
Drivers in the Aslef union are refusing to cover staff shortages on the Southern franchise by working overtime on their days off.
But union officials claim morning trains from Eastbourne to London were axed yesterday despite train crew being on hand to run them.
One worker sent a message to a colleague saying: “Southern have cancelled all London trains and Brighton trains – yet the crews are in the mess room. They have had their diagrams changed when they booked on for work.”
The long-running dispute is over plans by owner GTR for driver-only trains, with no guard.
Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “It is total chaos on Southern rail again this morning with the company misleading the public and mismanaging their staff resources.
“This is not the first time this has happened and it lays bare the complete and utter shambles on the Southern contract. It’s time Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and his government took responsibility and ended this fiasco.”
RMT members are staging a 24-hour strike next Monday. Among those disrupted by the cancellations were people hoping to attend an anti-Government protest in central London.
A Southern spokesman said: “The overtime ban means we have no choice but to reduce the number of trains to give a robust timetable.
“Where additional crew is available, we are using them to run extra shuttle services.”