A long-running dispute over the role of conductors on the Southern rail network has resulted in a series of strikes. Just how bad have the operator's commuter services become?

Kathryn Langley
BBC Live reporter

Goodnight from your Southern strikes live team.

We'll have more updates tomorrow and during Friday's planned strike action by members of the Aslef union.

And if you're travelling on Southern services this week, we wish you well. 

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Speaking as he left Acas headquarters, the leader of Aslef said Friday's strike was still on.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

One of the unions in dispute with Southern has told the BBC that research by the industry body, the Rail and Safety Standards Board, doesn't support the widespread introduction of driver-only-operated trains.

Rail bosses have agreed to hold formal talks with unions in a bid to resolve the ongoing Southern rail dispute. But how have rail strikes in the past ended?

Talks aimed at ending strikes on Southern rail see some progress but a planned strike will still go ahead on Friday, Aslef says.

The contract given to Govia Thameslink Railway the parent company of Southern Railway, was set up differently to other rail franchises. 

Here are some of the key questions about the deal:

When was it signed?

The seven year contract was awarded to GTR, a Go-Ahead Group company, in May 2014, with rival transport firm FirstGroup missing out.

Services began four months later.

What is included in the franchise?

The deal involves running Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services.

It is the biggest franchise in the country in terms of passengers. Department for Transport officials have said it is unlikely that future contracts would have the same level of "challenge and complexity".

Image source, PA

Why is this franchise different?

It was set up as a management contract, with Govia receiving around £8.9bn from the DfT during the course of the contract to run the trains. In return, revenue from tickets sales, which were estimated to be worth £12.4bn, are passed directly to the Government.

Why was this done?

The DfT said it reflected the "scale and complexity" of planned upgrades to the network, such as the Thameslink Programme to boost north-south travel through London Bridge.

It wanted the train operator to "focus on delivering these changes and managing their impact on customers".

The department added that it was difficult to predict the amount of ticket revenue during and after the planned changes. 

Image source, Getty Images

What is the impact of this?

GTR's profit margin is dependant on the money it receives from the DfT, minus the cost of operating the trains. It has been claimed that although the company incurs some financial penalties when trains are cancelled, taxpayers face the majority of losses from the associated reduction in ticket sales.

The Daily Telegraph reported that while GTR is saving around £1.1m in pay for train drivers and conductors on strike this week, the Government will suffer a £38m reduction in fare revenue.

Will anything be done to change this?

Ministers are under growing pressure to remove the franchise from GTR. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday that "there is a variety of things we need to think through", adding: "I am not ruling anything in or out."  

BBC Transport correspondent Richard Westcott explains what lies at the heart of the Southern rail dispute and strikes.

Kathryn Langley
BBC Live reporter

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas has called for Chris Grayling to be sacked and Southern to lose its franchise. 

Aslef says Acas talks with Southern are due to begin again at 10:30 GMT tomorrow.

ASLEF union general secretary Mick Whelan says progress been made at Acas talks but that that the strike on Friday is still on.

Claire Cottingham
BBC Live reporter

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton has urged the Prime Minister Theresa May to do something effective to stop what he calls a 'nonsense strike'. 

Kathryn Langley
BBC Live reporter

Ray Chapman put his house on the market so he could move nearer work but as he explains, it's not quite gone to plan.  

Stuart Maisner
BBC Live reporter

Passengers on Southern and Gatwick Express have been warned to expect services to be severely disrupted tomorrow following today’s drivers’ strike and Aslef's overtime ban for drivers.

Southern passenger services director Angie Doll said: "We will be working hard to run as many services as possible tomorrow, but regrettably I have to warn passengers that services will be severely impacted, with reductions and cancellations across all routes.

 “With today’s strike ending at midnight, despite our best efforts, some trains and crew will still not be in position for tomorrow’s service, and the overtime ban will continue to have a serious impact."

The train operator is advising passengers to check here, external before travelling.

On Friday, when Aslef drivers will again be on strike, there will be no Southern services and Gatwick Express will run every half an hour, instead of every 15 minutes, while Thameslink will run a normal timetable. Passengers are again advised not to travel.  

Kathryn Langley
BBC Live reporter

Roberto Magno runs a barber shop at Horsham station. He's been telling us that fewer commuters means fewer customers.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

East Worthing and Shoreham MP, Tim Loughton, raised the Southern strike at Prime Minister's Questions, with the PM offering her solution to the dispute.

Kathryn Langley
BBC Live reporter

Mick Cash, General Secretary of the RMT, says he's been barred from taking part in talks to try and resolve the Southern dispute.

Read more here.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Tim Loughton tells MPs that Aslef drivers object to operating doors on the Southern rail line but will do the same thing on Thameslink trains.  

He asks for an assurance everything will be done to end this"nonsense of a strike" and "give our constituents their livess back".

Theresa May agrees that it is an "appalling strike" and suggests that Jeremy Corbyn should call Aslef, who donate to Labour MPs, and tell them to call the "strike off immediately". 

Helen Catt
Political editor, BBC South East

This dispute is a particularly tricky one to crack, not least because of the unique way the Southern franchise works.

The Government pays Govia Thameslink billions of pounds to run Southern, but keeps all the money raised from tickets itself.

It's an unusual arrangement which came about because disruption from engineering works at London Bridge posed a big financial risk to any train company taking on the Southern routes.

What it also means is that the Government has significant influence on the contract and it is understood to be very keen to push through Driver Only Operation (DOO).

Image source, PA

With the loss of revenue on tickets, thought to be £38m by the end of the year, borne by the taxpayer, Southern arguably has less incentive than other companies to end the strikes.

And on the union side, they know their action can't stop the roll-out of DOO on Southern, which will actually be complete in a couple of weeks’ time.

But they don't agree with it and really want it reversed, so there is no deadline after which their industrial action becomes redundant.

Add this to the fact that the Government won't be in the room at Acas and it looks like it could be pretty tough to get a resolution.

Claire Cottingham
BBC Live reporter

RMT leader Mick Cash has been barred from taking part in talks on the Southern Railway dispute at Acas, the union said.

Talks are underway to find a solution to the dispute.