Talks continue to resolve bitter Southern Railway strike

Southern Rail services are at a standstill once again today in the final day of action by drivers this week.

It follows protests by commuters in London last night, after talks with the union ASLEF ended without agreement.

But workers aren't the only ones affected- Matthew Collett-Leslie has autism and is struggling to get to school and is concerned about his exams:

Hundreds of thousands of passengers face another day of strikes on Southern Rail.

They're being urged not to attempt to travel on Southern routes as drivers from the ASLEF Union walk out in the ongoing dispute over Driver Only Operation trains.

Talks between the union and Southern Rail ended yesterday at the conciliation service ACAS without reaching a compromise to end the industrial action.

The 24 hour strike on Friday follows a 48 hour strike which took place on Tuesday.

Passengers on Southern and Gatwick Express have been warned to expect services to be severely disrupted tomorrow, Thursday 15 December, following today’s industrial action.

Southern Passenger Services Director Angie Doll said: "We will be working hard to run as many services as possible tomorrow, but regrettably I have to warn passengers that services will be severely impacted, with reductions and cancellations across all routes.

“With today’s strike ending at midnight, despite our best efforts, some trains and crew will still not be in position for tomorrow’s service; and the overtime ban will continue to have a serious impact."

The train operator is advising passengers to check the Southern website (www.southernrailway.com) before they travel on the day.

On Friday, 16 December, when ASLEF drivers will again be on strike, there will be no Southern services and Gatwick Express will run every half an hour, instead of every 15 minutes, while Thameslink will run a normal timetable. Passengers are advised not to travel on Friday.

Conservative Tim Loughton, East Worthing and Shoreham MP, has asked for an assurance everything will be done to end a "nonsense of a strike" and "give our constituents their lives back".

At Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May agreed that it was an "appalling strike" and suggested that Jeremy Corbyn should call Aslef, who donate to Labour, and tell them to call the "strike off immediately".

Conservative Tim Loughton, East Worthing and Shoreham MP, has asked for an assurance everything will be done to end a "nonsense of a strike" and "give our constituents their lives back".

At Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May agreed that it was an "appalling strike" and suggested that Jeremy Corbyn should call Aslef, who donate to Labour MPs, and tell them to call the "strike off immediately"

Transport union leader Mick Cash has been barred from taking part in peace talks on the Southern Railway dispute at Acas.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union leader had been due to join talks with officials from Southern to seek a resolution in a bitter dispute over driver-only trains.

Mr Cash said that the company had "refused" him access to the talks, which also involved the Aslef union. He branded their behaviour as "absolutely disgraceful" and "counter-productive" today.

Southern's parent company earlier today said that they had offered to meet Mr Cash "later today" over the dispute.

A planned strike went ahead despite the talks, with another 24-hour stoppage planned on Friday, and a week-long walkout planned in the new year.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has refused to rule out taking action to prevent future stoppages like the one which brought all Southern Railway services to a halt.

All lines run by Southern's parent company, Govia Thameslink Railway, were bottom of the list for the same period (Southern Metro, Great Northern, Gatwick Express, Southern Mainline and Coast and Thameslink), with between 23.1% and 36.7% of trains arriving late at their destinations. Source: Network Rail, Office of Road and Rail.

Southern Rail passengers are set to endure a second day of major disruption as a drivers' strike enters its second day.

No Southern trains will be running, causing other services to be over-crowded and heavier than normal traffic on the roads.

However, the owners of the train company and the ASLEF union representing the drivers have agreed to meet at the conciliation service ACAS later this morning.

The industrial action centres around a row over the role of guards.