Dear stakeholder,
I am writing to confirm that Southern will be restoring its full train service from next Tuesday (24 January), now that the drivers’ union ASLEF has suspended its industrial action.
Yesterday ASLEF announced the suspension of its industrial action, including its strikes planned for next week and its drivers overtime ban. However, with rosters and timetables already issued for this week, and an RMT conductor strike set for Monday, we regret that it will not be possible to reintroduce the full timetable until Tuesday. We are working to introduce additional trains wherever possible as working patterns return to normal, with peak and London Bridge services as our priority; we are encouraging our customers to check our website www.southernrailway.com before they travel.
On Monday, with an RMT strike planned, Southern will be operating over 70% of its trains - more than it has been able to operate on previous conductor strike days. This follows the completion of our programme to put drivers in sole control of the operation of the train, including closing the doors. Whilst there will be disruption on Monday, due to the changes we’ve now fully rolled out, we’re now able to run more services on more routes serving more passengers and ultimately we'll have fewer cancellations and delays. Some 200 extra trains will be running on Monday and several routes will have their first service on an RMT strike day
The following routes - previously suspended on an RMT conductor strike day - will now operate on Monday:
- Eastbourne – Hastings
- Chichester – Portsmouth and Southampton
- Lewes – Haywards Heath
- Coastway stations (including Bognor, Littlehampton, Eastbourne, Worthing and Hastings) will regain a direct service to London
Routes that previously finished early in the evening will also now run much later.
From Tuesday, Southern plans to operate the normal full timetable on all routes, including those without a service for the last seven weeks. Gatwick Express will run again every 15 minutes and be extended every half hour to Brighton until 2200 when it will run half hourly until midnight then restart at 0500. This is to allow Network Rail to continue with additional engineering work to improve route reliability. Thameslink runs an overnight service to and from Gatwick which passengers will be able to use.
I recognise that recent months have been extremely tough for our passengers, and the impact that the service disruption has had on their families and the regional economy. Whilst much of this is due to industrial action, there are areas in which we could have done better. I also appreciate that following yesterday’s welcome announcement from ASLEF, it is frustrating to have to wait a few more days to get back to a full service.
The RMT should now recognise that their industrial action is wholly futile. I ask you to join me in calling on the RMT to call off their action, get back round the table with us and move forward together with us, delivering a better railway for our passengers.
Yours sincerely,
Angie Doll
Passenger Service Director, Southern and Gatwick Express