Commuters face further disruption as Southern Rail strikes continue

Southern Rail workers were going forward with their three day planned strike on Tuesday, despite the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union advising its members to sign the rail company’s new contracts.

The strike action has been ongoing since April over the role of guards on Southern services, causing major disruptions to train passenger journeys around the country.

The train operating company, which is a subsidiary of Govia Thameslink Railway - a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis - said it would run around 61% of its normal timetable but warned passengers that they may be delayed up to an hour with trains on some routes being cancelled all together.

Mayor of Seaford, Lindsay Freeman, told the BBC that the south coast town's summer tourist trade has dropped and some commuters have even given up jobs in London because of the strikes.

Mick Lynch, the assistant secretary general of the RMT told the BBC: "We're sorry that people in London and the South East have got to put up with this."

The strike continued even after a legal challenge was received by the RMT just hours before the start of the walkout at midnight.

Mick Cash, the RMT's general secretary, said: "Despite all of the threats and bullying from the company, RMT can confirm that the strike action is rock solid and determined again this morning across the Southern Rail network.

"If the company gets round the table and we can hammer out a deal which we think is reasonable, then we can call off these strikes and get everyone back to work."

Charles Horton, the chief executive of Govia Thameslink Railway, has urged the union to “stop striking” on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“I can’t tell you when the RMT are going to stop striking. They should stop striking now. The reasons for the dispute have ended,” said Horton.

“The railway on this part of the network is going through a huge upgrade programme to tackle some of the longer-term issues which need to be resolved here in terms of providing more capacity, introducing new trains and improving the punctuality and reliability of services,” Horton added.

Horton has been in discussions with the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) over the role of rail conductors according to the RMT.

The union recently accused the organisation of not being independent due to a “leaked briefing memo” showing Horton’s links to the board.

Southern has denied these claims saying the “leaked memo” was in fact sections from a publicly available research report.

The RSSB responded saying: “Charles Horton is one of our non-executive directors but was not involved in the research project which has been quoted in the document published by the RMT.

"RSSB does not create or advocate any policies, but provides independent insight and guidance to the rail industry based on robust research and analysis, which can include economic analysis.”

Paul Maynard, the rail minister, said: “It is disappointing that passengers once again face needless and unjustified strike action by the RMT, after the union advised its members to accept the new roles being offered by the operator.

"The union leaders have continually rejected a deal that protects jobs and ensures that conductors will carry on delivering safe, accessible and more reliable rail services.

"I call on RMT to put passengers first and stop this damaging action.”