Rail strikes in Sussex: Passengers braced for more severe train disruption as more dates announced

Thousands of RMT union members, working for Network Rail and a number of train operators, held three days of walkouts in late June in a dispute over pay, conditions and potential job losses.

Three further strike days on Wednesday July 27, Thursday August 18 and Saturday August 20 have been announced across Network Rail and 14 operators.

This now includes staff at Govia Thameslink Railway, which runs Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services, who recently voted to join the national industrial dispute.

Meanwhile train driver union ASLEF announced it will strike on Saturday July 30 across eight operators, although GTR is not one of them.

Angie Doll, chief operating officer at GTR, said: “We are extremely disappointed that passengers across the country now face the anxiety of further rail disruption. Our focus remains on encouraging the RMT to work with the industry to seek a swift resolution.”

The operator expects to run a ‘severely reduced service’ on the day of the strikes and disruption would continue into the days after each one.

And while GTR’s train drivers have not been balloted for industrial action, some of its services run along routes run by operators who are affected by the strikes and could affect its network as a result on July 30.

However Southeastern is one of the eight affected by the ASLEF strike. Meanwhile Transport Salaried Staffs' Association members working for Southeastern have also voted for strike action and action short of a strike.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The rail industry and the government need to understand that this dispute will not simply vanish.

"They need to get serious about providing an offer on pay which helps deal with the cost-of-living crisis, job security for our members and provides good conditions at work.”

But a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies across the UK, said: "We want to give our people an increase in pay, but asking taxpayers to shoulder more of the burden when they have already contributed £600 per household during the pandemic, or expecting passengers to fund it by paying more for their tickets, isn’t fair or sustainable.”