Service disruption on Southern Rail over New Year

Passengers are advised to check before they travel as Southern rail services are expected to be severely disrupted during the RMT’s next three-day strike which starts tomorrow (31 December).

Once again a team of contingency conductors will be keeping key routes open, but services on some routes will be reduced and finish earlier, while other routes will have no services or a replacement bus service. In addition, services on all routes will be subject to possible cancellation and severe disruption because of the on-going ASLEF driver overtime ban.

Alex Foulds, Southern’s Deputy Chief Operating Officer, said: “While we will do everything we can to get passengers where they want to go, we have to warn people that journeys may be disrupted and take longer than normal. Our best advice is to check on the day you travel, particularly if you are heading out to New Year celebrations, as services on some routes finish early in the evening.

“We are sorry that yet again passengers will have their plans disrupted by what is pointless industrial action. Our door remains open for meaningful talks and we urge the RMT to see sense and join us in delivering a better railway for everyone in 2017.”

Passengers can find the latest travel information at www.southernrailway.com

ENDS

Note to Editors

On New Year’s Eve there will be no Southern train services on these routes: Clapham Junction - Milton Keynes; Chichester - Portsmouth/Southampton; Lewes - Seaford; Eastbourne - Ashford International; Oxted - Uckfield; Haywards Heath - Lewes; Redhill - Reigate; London Bridge - Beckenham Junction. These routes will either have ticket acceptance with another operator or a replacement bus service.

On Sunday 1 January there will be a Sunday service and on Monday 2 January there will be a Saturday service. On both 1 and 2 January there will be no Southern train services on these routes: Ashford - Hastings; Hurst Green - Uckfield; Havant - Portsmouth Harbour; Clapham Junction - Milton Keynes; Redhill – Reigate. These routes will either have ticket acceptance with another operator or a replacement bus service. On 2 January there will also be a significantly reduced service from Brighton for stations towards Hove, Littlehampton and Havant and Southampton. Services that would have run from London or Brighton to Portsmouth will run only to or from Chichester.