Not just their franchise, every franchise to be renationalised and have the success that East Coast Trains had.

People moan about the constantly escalating price of rail tickets, but then moan again when any attempt at modernisation for efficiency gets met with the union digging it's heels in.

I'm not saying Southern are a good company by any means, but in this sort of situation they're in a complete no-win.

Which was then privatised with the franchise given to Virgin.

With a Tory government in power there will never be a re-nationalised railway in the UK.

1. True, I know.

2. Even with a labour government there won't be unfortuantely. Even that Corbyn if he somehow managed to win an election wouldn't do it.

Couldn't agree with you more.....

When I went to a music event in Brighton I was travelling up from Kent. I used Southern and thought even back in May what a pile of crap the service was! just two carriages!! it was a Saturday morning and I believe it was Brighton's last game of the football season therefore the station was rammed full of seagulls fans. I couldn't move and was scolded when my cuppa was spilt on me as someone jolted my hand trying to get past me in the mele to get out. This was when the strikes and the travel wasn't so bad, sod trying to use the services now!. I feel so sorry for the commuters who have lost their jobs because of it, I cant begin to think how they must be feeling. Southern and also South Eastern down this way in Kent are the worst two performing train companies in the UK. I think both franchises should be pulled but I'd say Southern more so as they treat their staff and customers like shit.

Ah Thameslink... The other incompetent branch of GTR... Like the other day that our delayed again service to Bedford pulled into Hendon, sat there for 20 minutes and then some random person walked past and told us that the train had actually been cancelled and the driver had walked off.. The entire parent company is a joke.

At one station in the South they have spanking new coaches just sat outside not moving. I'm guessing that's for health and safety issue just in case of an emergency and won't be used to ferry passengers around.

According to a colleague, there were no trains from London Bridge to Brighton last night and chaos and mayhem at Victoria. Her husband got to London Bridge just before 6pm and finally got back home at 11.30, having got a taxi for the last 10 miles because he had been unable to get a train to our local station.

I think I'd be using a phrase considerably stronger than "some inconvenience" if I was doing that journey.

Yep, they're just flat out unreliable.

Agreed. That line has been ropey long before the current Southern issue. Three years ago I nearly wrote to Thameslink to find out what percentage of their trains at a certain time of the day were cancelled as I ended up with a cancelled train once or twice a week, which becomes very tedious when you're reliant on the service to get home from work.

I usually use Southern and for the last 6 months or so it has been horrendous. Very often no driver available to drive the train, mysterious broken down trains, late running. Before that I found Southern to be very reliable with very good rolling stock. The fact that the drivers have joined in now is a new dimension.

I am temporarily using Thameslink as well - no industrial action but just completely crap service. Always late, ancient trains. They are part of the same company as Southern. They make me want to punch someone.

The expense of commuting and the shitty service really hits it home that you are in a rat in a cage, trying to run the same race day in and day out.

I am lucky - I at least get on at a station where it arrives relatively empty so I can get a seat - other people further down the line who get squashed together look so tired and demoralised. I am lucky too because I have a sympathetic employer, others do not.

I was supportive of the strike at first because I think employment rights are important and so easily eroded. However my patience has been exhausted. The unions and their members are causing untold misery to thousands of people on a daily basis. They earn decent money and are hitting people who often earn far less than them, whose employers are not sympathetic. Jobs are being lost or not offered in the first place.

I have been commuting for years now - never had a guard on my trains.

Worth mentioning - both Southern and Thameslink have reduced their delay compensation down from 30 mins to 15 mins - started 11 Dec. Needless to say, my first journey of the week was late and I have duly registered a claim. I am going to religiously do this now. The money is derisory but all who are affected should register on the respective sites just so there is some financial penalty to those two hapless services.

It's not about employment rights is it though? Sounds about halving the workforce at night to cut costs. Do you really think Southern would pass those savings on to customers? They might freeze prices for a year or two, but when memory of the strike fades they'll peg fare increases in line with everybody else so shareholders will be the ones that benefit, and the taxpayer will be footing the benefit bill for redundant conductors who had been earning a good wage for basic service-industry level skills.

Whatever their reasons I am too tired of the whole shitty mess.

It's called a Fare Strike and they have been used to good effect in the past. There was one in Bristol a few years ago against First Great Western for their dire performance and high fares. Of course, FGW tried to threaten evaders with legal action, but because pretty much everyone jumped the turnstiles, they had to relent.

If the entire city of London held a no-work or fare evasion week, I suspect the government would sit up and notice.

That's a great idea. Everyone goes to work as normal, but the employees just open the barriers and wave everyone through. The operator has no revenue but still has to pay staff, they get the commuters on their side and they can keep on doing it for as long as the company holds out...a win-win!

Yes, why haven't they thought of that.

Unions - stuffy old white men who can't think outside of the box.

Or just maybe, it's because it would be rather illegal....

Surely all the Southern revenue protection staff would eventually face dismissal?

So is a fare strike, technically, but if everyone sticks to it, there's not much anyone can do about it.

Leaving Southern nobody to protect their revenues!
Like I say, a win-win plan!

I saw that but I don't know how I would prove it as I'm on PAYG.


I didn't know it was a thing; it just seemed the obvious way to unblock the standstill. I'm not influential enough to do anything about it though.

[quote=striing;84889706]I saw that but I don't know how I would prove it as I'm on PAYG.

[\QUOTE]

I am on PAYG too - Using my contactless debit card. download a journey record for journey claiming for from Oyster and then electronically attach to claim. It was easy. They cover lots of different payment ways - season ticket etc. They are going to refund the debit card I use. Worth doing. If we all diligently did it, it would be one way to get back at them for shite service.