New transport secretary says Southern dispute is his priority

Chris Grayling was today meeting managers from Southern’s owner Govia Thameslink Railway about the standard of service.

Southern has started a new reduced timetable until further notice in a bid to ensure advertised trains run despite continuing high levels of sickness among conductors.

A big increase in sickness rates has come during an ongoing dispute with the RMT over the proposed extensions of driver-only operations on Southern. The dispute has already led to a series of 24-hour strikes.

Mr Grayling told the BBC that Southern’s performance has ‘got to improve quickly.’