Misery for thousands of commuters as Southern Rail staff prepare to walk out in second three-day strike

COMMUTER chaos is expected tomorrow as Southern Rail staff walk out in another three-day strike as part of a bitter ongoing dispute over the role of guards - with no sign that an agreement will be reached soon.

Last week strike action by members of the Rail, Maritime and Train union affected thousands of commuters, with a third of services axed.

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Staff are preparing to walk out again at one minute past midnight tomorrow, bringing chaos to commuter services from London to Brighton, Dover and Hastings.

The industrial action is the latest in a bitter and long-running dispute over plans to make drivers, rather than guards,  responsible for opening and closing doors.

Thousands of trains travelling into London from the south coast are expected to be axed during the 48-hour strike, despite Southern’s hopes of running 61 per cent of scheduled services.

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If no agreement is reached strikes are expected to continue until December.

A total of 14 days of strikes by up to 400 guards have been announced.

The strike dates are:

• Tuesday 18 October to Thursday 20 October
• Thursday 3 November to Saturday 5 November
• Tuesday 22 November and Wednesday 23 November
• Tuesday 6 December to Thursday 8 December

Last week Southern Rail dramatically upped the battle by threatening court action unless the union calls off strikes.

Talks aimed at resolving the dispute on Thursday lasted just 40 minutes, although both sides say they are willing to enter discussions.

It seems unlikely tomorrow's strikes will be cancelled. The RMT has said it is "committed to genuine and meaningful talks" while Southern says the union has to bring something "new" to the table.

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Customers have already suffered months of delays and disruption because of the dispute, which centres around plans to allow drivers to open and close doors.

For everything you need to know about planned Southern Rail strikes click here.

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