Southern Rail has announced there will be severely reduced trains across their network on Friday (December 9) because of a ban on overtime put in place by the UK union for train drivers, ASLEF.

Combined with the ongoing delays and reductions to Piccadilly line trains on the underground, Friday is likely to prove miserable for commuters across London.

The director of Southern, Alex Foulds, apologised to passengers and said that Southern and Gatwick Express trains will be reduced and on some lines cancelled because of the ban.

'We're sincerely sorry'

Mr Foulds said: “Tomorrow (Friday December 9) is the first day when ASLEF's overtime ban will be felt on a non-strike day.

“We're sincerely sorry but passengers are advised services will be severely reduced and on some routes cancelled altogehter.

“We will put on rail replacement buses where we can.

“We urge people to check before they travel on the day.”

Severe delays on the Piccadilly Line have resulted in shuttle bus replacements (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The services affected

There will be no Gatwick Express services between the airport and Brighton, no southern services to or from Beckenham Junction, and no services between East Croydon and Milton Keynes Central via Kensington Olympia.

There will also be a very limited service between Brighton and London and no direct service between London and Portsmouth or Southampton.

Southern said there will also be very limited peak services between Tulse Hill and London Bridge.

No Southern peak-only service to or from Guildford and also no Southern peak-only service to or from Wimbleddon.

Southern suggest people avoid travelling at peak times and allow extra time for journeys where possible.

More Piccadilly chaos

The Piccadilly is also expected to be chaotic on Friday as the train shortage is continues.

A reduced service is operating on the line, with customers between Ealing Common and Rayners Lane having to change at Acton Town.

Between Uxbridge and Rayners Lane customers should use the Metropolitan line and a shuttle service will be in operation between Acton Town and Rayners Lane.

There will also be a bus service between Acton Town and Rayners Lane calling at Hanger Lane for the Central line instead of Park Royal.

Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.

You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.

Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!