Commuters are now facing more strife as three days of action are due to take place this week just more than a week before Christmas.

Train drivers for Southern services will start a series of walkouts on Tuesday (December 12) that are likely to cause disruptions throughout Christmas and the New Year.

There will be no Southern services on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (December 13,14 and 15) as staff from both the ASLEF and RMT unions take industrial action.

Southern have warned “You should not attempt to travel” during the strike actions and to expect severely reduced and disrupted services every day while this action is in place.

What dates are strikes over Christmas?

There are a total of nine days of strike action planned between December 13 and January 14 as both drivers and conductors walk out.

Strikes will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week as both ASLEF and RMT drivers take action.

The following week there is action on Monday December 19 to Tuesday December 20 as conductors who are members of the RMT union also walk out.

This strike has been changed from its original date of December 22 to 24, which would have caused chaos as people travel during the Christmas period.

On New Year's Eve (December 31) through to Monday January 2, RMT conductors will be striking again which will cause problems to anyone travelling for New Year celebrations.

The final series of strikes takes place on Monday January 9 for six days to Saturday January 14 as both ASLEF and RMT drivers walk out.

Why are the strikes taking place?

The ASLEF strikes are taking place to protest the introduction of drive-only operated routes across the Souther franchise services.

Drive-only operation means the train is operated by the driver alone without a conductor.

The driver must be able to see the whole train to ensure doors are closed and the train is safe and ready to depart.

This can include use of CCTV systems or mirrors.

ASLEF, the train drivers' union, has argued the system is unsafe and gives the driver just two seconds to check 24 sets of doors.

However, Southern said there is no evidence driver-only operation is unsafe.

RMT strikes are also about driver-only operation as it tries to ensure guards are able to keep their jobs while arguing their role is “safety critical”.

Who will be affected by Southern strikes?

Southern provide rail services to travellers in south London, between central London and the south coast, through East and West Sussex, Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire.

The franchise includes 156 stations, including London Victoria and London Bridge.

Southern has provide around 2,242 services every weekday and around 600,000 passengers journeys are made every day.

The company is urging people not to travel on Tuesday.

Passenger services director at the company, Angie Doll, said: “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.”

Information on services is likely to change quickly, so passengers are urged to visit the Southern website for the latest information.

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