Southern rail conductors staged 24-hour strike
Company says the action had "significant effect" on services
RMT union accused operator of refusing to take part in talks
Govia Thameslink said it was open to talks
Clark Ainsworth
BBC News
That's it from the BBC South East team on the Southern rail strike.
Thank you for following our updates throughout the day and for all your comments and tweets.
Southern says some services will finish early tonight because of the industrial action and is advising passengers to check their route before they travel.
You can get the latest information on the operator's live journey planner page, external.
Image source, SouthernCommuters have been having their say on Twitter, external about today's strike.
Hundreds of trains have been cancelled on one of the busiest routes in the UK, causing travel chaos for passengers.
The walkout by RMT union conductors started just after midnight and is part of a dispute over the role of guards.
Govia Thameslink says the action is "totally unnecessary".
More from rail operator boss Charles Horton who has accused the RMT union of carrying out a campaign of "scaremongering and misleading claims".
The rail chief said the union had claimed the firm was removing guards from trains, placing safety under threat and putting profit before safety.
Mr Horton said under the plans there would be the same number of people on trains as there are today. He said all three claims were completely unfounded and untrue.
Southern has published this list of routes with a limited service for the rest of the day.
Passengers arriving at Brighton Station give us their views.
Southern commuters at Brighton Station
Rail operator Southern has urged passengers to check before they travel this evening and allow plenty of time to complete journeys, because some services will close down early.
You can get the latest travel updates through the BBC.
Tom Edwards
Transport Correspondent, BBC London
The electrical fire on a train, external this morning was on a Great Western Railway train not South West Trains service.
Image source, Home Counties News AgencyPaul Cox from the RMT says the union is not prepared to sacrifice the conductors' safety role.
Paul Cox from the RMT
For those passengers who have suffered disruption, Southern posted the following information on Twitter, external about compensation claims.
Dyan Crowther, chief operating officer of Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Southern, thinks it's an "unnecessary strike".
Dyan Crowther from Govia Thameslink
Tanya Gupta
That's all from me on Southern rail strike.
I'm handing over to Bob Dale who will be following the latest on the industrial action and looking ahead to the evening rush hour.
We want to hear about your journeys home. Get in touch and let us know how you get on. You can tweet, external us using #Southernstrike, external, email us or leave a message on our Facebook, external page.
Action for Rail - a campaign by rail unions and the TUC - urges passengers to contact their MPs about the planned Southern changes.
Transport union TSSA has warned the dispute could spread to involve ticket office staff facing job losses with the closure or partial closures of over 80 offices.
Union leader Manuel Cortes said public support for keeping the offices open had been "ignored by Southern". He said: "We could very soon find ourselves in dispute."
And some light-hearted comments are circulating on Twitter amid the industrial action.
Advice from Southern here for passengers who need to make return journeys later today.
The rail operator's chief executive Charles Horton says Southern is "operating well" with a reduced service on strike day.
But he said: "This pointless and unnecessary action by the RMT causes enormous disruption for the 300,000 people we carry on their commute every day."
He said rail workers being led astray and misled by trade unions acting in "their own narrow, selfish interests".