Commuters facing chaos in the heat as Southern Rail staff stage walkout
SOUTHERN RAIL workers are striking today, the latest walkout in their long, bitter dispute, as commuters say they fear a “cliff edge” situation could lead to rolling action.
Thousands of passengers face chaos in the summer heat as members of the RMT union stage a 24-hour walkout.
Drivers and guards are striking over Southern’s plans to remove guards from services and extend driver-only operated trains, which the union argues are unsafe.
A Southern spokesman insisted the service, used by around 300,000 people in London and the South-east, would be unaffected despite the strike.
However, the Association of British Commuters said disruption was “inevitable”. Emily Yates, co-founder and campaign coordinator for the organisation, said: “Things in Southern Rail are so unpredictable. There’s massive overcrowding and the system itself is under so much strain that it only takes one unforeseen incident to happen for a huge knock-on effect. There is massive, systemic chaos.”
The latest strike coincides with an overtime ban already in place by train drivers’ union Aslef. Members working for Southern and Gatwick Express introduced the ban last month.
RMT workers for Northern, meanwhile, were on strike over the weekend and today – forcing reduced services.
Ms Yates claimed Southern is already running a “three quarter” service. “So it couldn’t be any more of a cliff edge for us to go back to the nightmare of last year,” she added.
Passengers endured disruption and rail cancellations throughout 2016 and earlier this year, with one walkout in January lasting three days.
Commuters had been advised not to travel at times, with the Southern network at a halt. Ms Yates said a resolution was vital, and the RMT had made “incredibly reasonable” offers to Southern but it not been prepared to compromise.
A Transport Department spokesman said: “We are very disappointed that the RMT is calling yet more completely unnecessary strikes that will cause only disruption and frustration.”