Passengers have been warned not to travel tomorrow even if Southern wins a high court injunction against the drivers’ strike this afternoon.
The first of three Aslef strike days this week is due to begin at midnight, but even if the Court of Appeal bans the walkout, Southern says it will be too late to get trains and drivers “in the right position” for tomorrow.
The warning comes after commuters struggled in amidst chaotic scenes with and overcrowded trains and stations this morning as Aslef’s ban on drivers working overtime continues to hit services.
#Brighton #station this morning. Great job, @SouthernRailUK @brightonargus pic.twitter.com/Ub8Ul2S8Vz
— Ade (@stjohnbee) December 12, 2016
Following GTR’s application to appeal on Friday evening, the Court of Appeal listed the hearing for this morning given the importance and urgency of the forthcoming strikes and impact on passengers and the regional economy.
Southern says that given the timing of the court’s decision, which will be later this afternoon, it will be too late to get trains and drivers in the correct position for tomorrow and any services it can run will be extremely limited. For this reason passengers are still advised not to travel.
Angie Doll, Passenger Services Director for Southern, said: “We hope for the sake of our passengers our application to the Court of Appeal is successful.
“Even if we are able to stop the strikes through the court, services will still be very heavily impacted tomorrow. We will work through the night to try and provide as many services as possible, but we are still advising passengers not to travel as we will not be able to offer a robust service they can rely on.
“We are sorry but the industrial action by ASLEF leaves us no viable alternative, but be assured we will do all we can overnight.”
Passengers are advised to check the Southern website at www.southernrailway.com for the latest information.
