Southern rail two-day strike begins

Passengers using the Southern rail network face disruptions as workers on begin a 48 hour strike to protest changes to the role of conductors.

The strike has been organised by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and mean that more than two out of five trains will be cancelled, with no service on some routes and early closures on others.

The dispute is linked to changes that would make drivers responsible for shutting doors instead of conductors.

Campaigners from Disabled People Against Cuts have advised that this change could have negative consequences for disabled passengers using the network. A spokesman said: “We believe that if a train runs driver-only operation to an unstaffed station with a passenger who is unable to exit the train unassisted, then an offence will be committed under the Equality Act 2010.

“After 30 years of commitment, effort and public expenditure to ensure that disabled people can travel by train, as by other modes, with confidence, we risk taking a significant retrograde step that will effectively deny people those hard-won rights. That is simply unacceptable.”