RMT general secretary Mick Cash said there was “rock solid” support on the first morning of the strike, which, if completed, would be the longest industrial action on the railways since 1968, according to the BBC.
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The union believes safety would be affected if the role of conductors is changed, especially with the relentless rise in passenger numbers.
Southern said that the guards, or conductors, would have a more customer-facing role and that trains would not usually run without conductors – or onboard supervisors as they will be known.
Stations were quieter than expected, but passengers complained of packed trains and a sense of hopelessness at being caught in the middle of the bitter dispute.
Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said: “It has become increasingly clear that the barrier to resolving the Southern-GTR dispute is the Tory government”.
”Our fight is with the company and the government, who have dragged this franchise into total meltdown”, he said.
Trains have been disrupted for weeks because of industrial action and a shortage of staff, which the company has blamed on high levels of sickness.
GTR chief executive Charles Horton said: “Everyone is sick and exhausted of this pointless, needless and senseless strike, which is so damaging to people’s everyday lives and the South-east economy, and causing undue disruption and hardship to customers and employees”.
Bruce Williamson, a spokesman for the Railfuture passenger group, said: “There is generally a problem with overcrowding and resources on the railway, so then adding on a strike is a double whammy for customers”. A significant one, according to the RMT union.
Under a revised timetable, the operator has said it plans to run nearly 60% of its normal services from Monday 8 August to Friday 12 August, rather than the 85% it has been running since last month. Southern’s offer to its staff last week shows there are no risks to jobs or pay.
At the moment conductors must be on board the train because they are responsible for closing the doors before it leaves.
The union offered to suspend strikes on last Friday, but only if Southern meet the same conditions.
The company says on-board staff will be able to focus on helping passengers, insisting this will offer a better service.
Cash said: “We want the government to stop weaponising the Southern dispute for political purposes and we want them to stop treating passengers and staff as collateral damage in a war that Peter Wilkinson has unilaterally declared on the rail unions”.
The Prime Minister strongly condemns the strike action It’s only going to cause more disruption and misery for passengers.
The National Express network covers a number of areas which are impacted by the Southern issues, including Brighton, Hastings, Worthing, Eastbourne, Broadstairs, Bexhill and Bognor Regis, and has seen the huge year-on-year increase during this week’s five-day strike period.
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Southern plans to run 60% of its normal timetable.
