The union said that support for the strike was strong.
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“We’re already half-way through our complete refresh of our trains with all new interiors being rolled out, and in two years will have our brand-new Azuma trains coming into service”.
As always, this strike is about trade unions standing in the way of technological progress and showing the Government and train operators they still have the power to cause widespread misery.
Southern, which runs trains between London and its densely populated southern commuter belt, has seen months of one-day strikes and cancelations that it blamed on staff shortages.
Southern’s owner, Govia Thameslink Railway, apologised to passengers, describing the strike as “completely unjustified”.
A reduced service will be running from Anerley toward London Bridge.
Some areas in Sussex will have no trains, while other routes will be more packed than usual.
The union offered to call off the strike if management agreed to a deal like that reached at ScotRail, which accepted their workers’ offer to suspend strike action providing the company retains guards on a new train fleet.
It is feared that the five-day strike was the unions’ attempt to show the government their power has not been diminished by the new rules.
Industrial relations on the railways worsened after RMT members on Virgin East Coast voted to strike in a separate dispute over jobs, working conditions and safety, backing walkouts by 84%, with nine out of 10 supporting other forms of industrial action.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) announced it will ballot more than 250 station staff members for industrial action. The dispute is about GTR imposing driver rosters.
Easyjet warned its passengers travelling from Gatwick: “Southern Rail have implemented an amended timetable on Mondays to Fridays”.
Southern said its strike timetable was still running well as the evening peak approached, with no issues at stations and 88.5% of services on time.
“The DfT must ensure passengers receive greatly improved services and appropriate compensation, to enforce franchise commitments and to agree mechanisms so performance levels do not fall to such levels again”.
“The rejection of that offer means that the responsibility for the disruption next week lies at the door of the Government and their Southern rail contractors Govia Thameslink”.
A fleet of Sea Marshals would be a much-needed bolstering of our sea defences and we hope the PM takes Mr Elphicke’s suggestion seriously.
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“The government must be told that it’s not acceptable to continue charging passengers high fares for unreliable, late and packed trains”.
