Southern Rail strike: Talks break down as strike continues

Brighton station was crowded with commuters waiting for trains

The first face-to-face talks between the bosses of Southern trains and the RMT union in a bid to avert further strike action have broken down.

The 72-hour walkout began on Tuesday despite the RMT advising members to sign new contracts.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said "a golden opportunity" to resolve the dispute "had been wrecked".

The union has held a series of walkouts since April over the role of conductors on Southern services.

'Raising hopes'

Mr Cash said: "RMT entered talks with Charles Horton from Southern [on Wednesday morning] in good faith and with every intention of trying to reach an agreement.

"However, it became clear from the outset that Mr Horton is refusing to stick by the assurances he gave to the media yesterday that he can absolutely guarantee a second member of staff on all current Southern services with a conductor."

Mr Cash said the union was "angry and frustrated".

Mr Horton said he had made it "crystal clear" that Southern was going to implement its proposals guaranteeing every train which has a conductor now will have a conductor or onboard supervisor in the future.

He said: "They have absolutely nothing new to say - today, last week, last month - which helps us move forward.

"They raise everyone's hopes by stating they want to end the dispute, but then dash them by their continued head-in-the-sand position."

Mr Horton later told the BBC that it was still "pressing ahead with making the changes".

"We've made offers to people of the new roles, and people are returning their contracts.

"We're getting on with the job of changing the method of operation, and we hope that the RMT will now make the decision to cancel the strikes, to recognise that this has to end, and end now."

Train chaos 'dangerous'

The Association of British Commuters, which is seeking a judicial review over the government's handling of the Southern franchise, has written to the Department for Transport raising concerns for passengers' safety.

A spokesman said: "Passengers are having to cope with absolute chaos now. On any day, trains are overcrowded or cancelled and the situation is dangerous."

Transport Focus spokesman Anthony Smith said passengers had "lost the plot as to what the original rights and wrongs of the dispute actually were".

"It has become so bitter and protracted," he said.

Southern said it would continue to run a revised timetable on Wednesday.

It is not just the passengers who are unhappy, apparently

Passengers complained during the morning rush hour about trains having less carriages and over crowding.

SonicLady tweeted: "That's it @SouthernRailUK, shortform my train on strike day. Many passengers unable to board again. #SouthernStrike #southernfail."

Beefqueen posted: ".@SouthernRailUK Why is the 0838 from TBG to City Thameslink today shortformed? #SouthernStrike #southernfail."

Others said services were running better than on the first day of the strike.

Fed tweeted: "The train situation is still bad this morning, though slightly less so than yesterday. Good luck folks - keep your heads :) #SouthernStrike."

Strike dates announced by the RMT:

• 00:01 Tuesday 11 October to 23:59 Thursday 13 October

• 00:01 Tuesday 18 October to 23:59 Thursday 20 October

• 00:01 Thursday 3 November to 23:59 Saturday 5 November

• 00:01 Tuesday 22 November to 23:59 Wednesday 23 November

• 00:01 Tuesday 6 December to 23:59 Thursday 8 December