Southern Rail services halted for three days by strike

Services on Southern Railway will be at a standstill again today due to another strike by drivers in the long-running dispute over driver-only trains.

Members of the ASLEF union are striking for the third time this week, severely affecting the company's 300,000 passengers.

Southern is providing 200 buses and coaches to take passengers to nearby stations which link to other rail operators.

Southern are advising passengers not to travel unless it is essential.

Drivers walked out on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week with further strikes planned for 24th, 25th and 27th January.

The RMT union has announced a further 24 hour strike by guards for Monday 23rd January.

The walkout is part of the long running dispute with Southern Rail over the role of the conductor.

It means commuters now face strikes on 23rd January in addition to the industrial action by the ASLEF union on 24th, 25th and 27th January.

The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has attacked the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for saying he would be happy to join a Southern Rail picket line.

He said Jeremy Corbyn was 'putting politics before passengers'.

Labour has called for an independent review of Chris Grayling's decision to refuse proposals for Transport for London to take over Southeastern rail services.

In the Commons today, the Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said that Chris Grayling had "put party politics ahead of passengers" over the Southeastern decision.

Chris Grayling replied saying "I cannot believe what I've just heard from him. Putting party politics before passengers, in the week when the Leader of the opposition said he would join a picket line to perpetuate the unnecessary strikes on Southern Rail that are causing so much damage to passengers."

Chris Grayling speaking in the Commons today

Strikes at Southern have cost taxpayers sixty million pounds according to the RMT union.

Ticket money lost from not running a service is paid for by the Government under the Southern contract.

Unlike other franchises parent company GTR is paid a set fee to manage the company as part of a complex arrangement with the Government liable for additional profit and losses.

The union say new clauses are also being added to other companies contracts that will mean losses for strikes will be compensated by the Government.

The RMT say it could mean more guards jobs being lost.

Southern says its plan is safe and will improve passenger service.

They insist it is not about job losses but changes to the role of guards.

They say 100 extra staff are being employed to help passengers on trains.

Govia Thameslink Railway is taking a legal case against Aslef to Supreme Court over industrial action on Southern Railway.

It's day two of the current strike on Southern Rail - this one involving members of the Aslef union.

Fewer than twenty trains will run today - normally it's more than 2,000 daily. Two hundred coaches and buses are providing a link between Southern stations and nearby neighbouring train networks.

MPs from our region say more constituents have contacted them about the strike than about anything else they can remember. Our political correspondent Phil Hornby spoke to Tim Loughton, the MP for East Worthing and Shoreham in Sussex.

Train station platforms were deserted today as hundreds of thousands of the South's commuters heeded warnings - and stayed away - on day one of a three-day Southern Rail strike. Transport Correspondent Mike Pearse reports.