The train operator Southern will restore more than 100 cancelled services next Monday, bringing some relief after a summer of misery for passengers.
The operator, which is owned by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said 119 services – more than a third of the 341 cancelled on 11 July – would be reinstated. It blamed “unprecedented levels of train crew sickness” for the cancellations.
Charles Horton, GTR’s chief executive, said: “We know how difficult life has been for our passengers recently and we are sincerely sorry. Our aim has been to bring back as much of the timetable as quickly as we could.
“We’re pleased that we can restore a large chunk of our train timetable for our passengers but we will not be satisfied until the full timetable is running, and running in a punctual way people can rely on.”
But the good news for passengers was overshadowed by the prospect of more strikes next week. GTR has been at loggerheads with the RMT union as well as the drivers’ union Aslef.
The Liberal Democrat transport spokeswoman, Jenny Randerson, expressed disappointment at GTR’s announcement. She said: “This is a small step in the right direction but will not provide a quick fix. One hundred and nineteen services have been restored but 222 still hang in the balance. Strikes are still planned for the 7th and 8th of September and both passengers and staff are still dissatisfied.
“Today’s announcement doesn’t go far enough and Southern still need to address the mess that surrounds them and allows their customers’ daily misery to continue.”
The company is due to hold new talks with the RMT on Wednesday to avert a 24-hour strike by hundreds of station staff over its station modernisation programme. A 48-hour walkout by conductors from the RMT next Wednesday and Thursday is still expected to go ahead.
Unions oppose GTR’s plans to increase the use of driver-only-operated trains and change the role of conductors, arguing some of the changes will impact on safety.
An Aslef ballot for strike action by more than 1,000 train drivers working for Southern and Gatwick Express, which could have coincided with the RMT walkout, has been suspended by the union.
A GTR spokesman said: “We welcome the decision by Aslef to suspend their ballot notice over a ‘breakdown in industrial relations’ and that it will not take any further action in relation to the ballot notice, or the ballot. We are continuing to work with Aslef to address their concerns that led to the dispute.”
Horton said: “While we’ll do all we can to restore the services, we are faced with an unparalleled wave of strikes, unjustified industrial disputes and abnormal levels of train crew sickness.”
He blamed “an intransigent RMT leadership” for the strike called next week, which he said would “cause maximum disruption, damage and delay in the very week when many people go back to work and back to school after the summer break”.
Southern is the UK’s largest rail franchise, covering routes from Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent into London. It also runs Gatwick Express services between London Victoria and Gatwick stations, and to Brighton in the morning and evening peak periods.
GTR operates the Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express rail companies, and its parent company, Govia, runs London Midland and South Eastern train companies.
