Train passengers face misery as Southern rail workers hold five-day strike

Rail workers with Southern Railway have walked out today at the start of a five-day strike in an escalating dispute over the role of conductors.

The strike, which will see picket lines mounted across Southern's network, including London Victoria and Brighton, will mean a week of travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

An emergency timetable will be put in place, with 60% of services expected to run, according to Southern.

But some areas in Surrey and Sussex will have no trains, while services will be even more packed than usual.

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.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) objects to planned changes to the role of train conductors, which revolve around plans to have drivers operate train doors.

The union has accused the government of "sabotaging" three days of talks last week at the conciliation service Acas, which broke down without agreement.

Southern's owners Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said it had offered new assurances on jobs to the union, but will still press ahead with plans to change the role of conductors later this month.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "This action has been forced on us by the arrogance and inaction of Govia Thameslink and the government who have made it clear that they have no interest in resolving this dispute or in tackling the daily chaos on Southern."

Southern's Passenger Service Director Angie Doll said: "We have gone the extra mile with our compromise offer, but the RMT has made it clear they are not prepared to negotiate.

"They did not want to discuss the role of the on-board supervisor and remain rigidly opposed to evolving the role of on-board staff to focus more on customers."