Southern Rail disruption: enough is enough

06 January 2017

“I don’t care anymore who is in the wrong or right – commuters are the ones being punished.”

“These strikes have been going on for over six months, and it’s just frustrating that there has been no solution in all of that time. I don’t understand how it has been allowed to continue on for this long at great disruption to the passengers.”

Typical quotes from Southern passengers taken from our new research report on the effect on passengers of the on-going industrial action published today. We know from this research, published today, the effect this action is having on people’s lives: lost time, lost money, more driving and deep frustration at not being able to rely on the trains.

Britain has a relatively safe rail network and no one wants to see that track record tarnished. Driver-only operation on trains is used on many parts of the railway and on all the London Underground network.

The unions have specific concerns about the way driver only operation is being introduced on Southern services. The rail safety regulator published a report yesterday on this issue. Surely this provides the basis for moving forward and reviewing the need for industrial action?

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