Three local bishops have written to train company bosses, union leaders and the government urging them to end the “cycle of blame” in the continuing dispute affecting Southern passengers.
They referred to the misery being inflicted on thousands of passengers and their families in the lead up to Christmas.
The Church of England bishops sent their joint letter to Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs Southern services, the RMT and Aslef trade unions and ministers at the Department for Transport.
The letter comes from the Bishop of Chichester Martin Warner, the Bishop of Horsham Mark Sowerby and the Bishop of Lewes Richard Jackson.
The missive refers to a “moral obligation” to provide public transport while recognising the complexity of the issues which currently provide an impasse between the train operator and unions.
The bishops said that, as Christian leaders, their task is “to promote those processes which lead to human flourishing in a just and free society”.
Southern is the main train operator in the diocese of Chichester, which covers Sussex and has its headquarters in New Church Road, Hove.
One commuter said that it would be nothing short of a miracle if the bishops managed to bring peace at Christmas to the long-running rail dispute.
Earlier this year Southern bosses met angry commuters at All Saints Church, Hove, at a public meeting organised by the town’s Labour MP Peter Kyle.
