BRITAIN’S worst-performing railway could be hit by further strikes as ticket office staff vote on whether to walk out over plans to further downgrade the service.
Rail union TSSA opened a two-week ballot yesterday of more than 250 station staff who work for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which runs the basket case Southern franchise, on industrial action aimed at slamming the brakes on plans to slash 47 jobs through closing 34 ticket offices and reducing another 49 to peak-only operation.
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “We cannot stand by and allow GTR to reduce Southern Railway to a second-class operation which is not fit for passengers and staff.”
He called for Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to step in and strip GTR of the franchise, handing it over to publicly owned Transport for London.
“Then we will have a publicly run franchise which will be operating in the public interest, not in the interest of private shareholders.”