Southern rail has said most of its routes will operate some level of service on Thursday (29 June), although many will run fewer trains as an overtime ban by drivers’ union ASLEF begins.
The company previously said it planned to run 75% of services on Thursday and Friday and has published travel advice for the two days showing which lines will be hit. It said passengers travelling on routes with a reduced service should avoid travelling at peak times and allow extra time.
Southern said it is ‘continuing to explore every avenue to allow us to run more services from Monday 3 July’.
ASLEF, which represents 95% of drivers on Southern, reinstated its overtime ban last week after the acrimonious breakdown of talks with Southern management over driver only operation and other issues, including pay.
Union general secretary Mick Whelan said on Wednesday that the renewed action reflects the total loss of trust and goodwill between train drivers and the company’.
He added: ‘Drivers work overtime on an entirely voluntary basis and have no contractual obligation to do so. The shortage of train drivers is wholly down to a lack of recruitment by Southern rail who have made no effort to recruit drivers over many years, a point echoed by the government commissioned Gibb report last week.’
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents Network Rail and train companies, said: ‘Together, Southern rail and Network Rail are implementing a long-term plan to make journeys better on one of the busiest parts of Britain’s railway.
‘Whilst every stop is being pulled out to keep passengers moving, Aslef’s action risks unnecessary disruption to passengers’ lives, damaging local economies and putting at risk recent improvements to train services.’
The RMT union, which represents the majority of Southern guards moved to new roles as on board supervisors, has announced a 24 hour strike on Southern on 10 July.
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