Southern rail strike cut to three days but more action is planned for the end of the month

Aslef says it is reducing the planned six day strike over concerns about the disruption it causes to passengers

Passengers queue for a reduced Gatwick Express service during the Southern rail strike at Victoria last month (Reuters)

A six-day strike by drivers on Southern rail has been halved but unions have announced another four-day strike between 24 and 27 January.

Members of the Aslef union were due to walk out from Tuesday 10 January which have halted services for the entire week, but now say they will move the second part of the action to the end of the month.

But General Secretary Mick Whelan said the move did not mean the union was rolling back and warned of further strikes. He said the union's executive will meet later in the month and there was a likelihood more strikes will be called.

The union said it had reduced the stoppage out of consideration for how long the dispute will last and its effect on passengers.

Southern railway customers have suffered months of disruption because of industrial action, staff shortages and other problems with the service. Aslef has banned its members from taking overtime which is leading to services being cancelled or delayed every day.

Mr Whelan said: "We are taking a longer-term view of this trade dispute. The company has not been prepared to move – it is simply going through the motions, turning up at Acas, as it did yesterday, and telling us that it intends to impose [driver-only trains].

"We remain committed to a negotiated settlement, as was reached with ScotRail, but it is difficult to negotiate with people who are not prepared to be flexible.

"We still believe a deal can be done but we are, at the moment, a long way from that position. It is time for the company to come up with a genuine offer rather than carry on posturing."

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is also embroiled in a dispute with Southern over changes to the role of conductors, which has led to a series of strikes.

Aslef drivers went out on strike on 13 and 14 December while RMT conductors walked out between 19 and 20 December and between New Year's Eve and 2 January.

Commuters have reported losing, or being forced to give up, their jobs and taking antidepressants due to the stress of getting to and from work.

The dispute, which began in the summer, is over plans by Govia – Southern's parent company – to hav drivers close the doors on trains themselves rather than having a conductor onboard.

Some of Southern's customers say they have been forced to give up their jobs because of the difficulty they have getting to and from work (PA)

Govia has insisted this will not involve any redundancies but Aslef and the RMT claim it will make train journeys unsafe and say the routes were already understaffed.

A spokesman for Southern said: “This is a cynical ploy to minimise the impact on Aslef’s drivers’ pay packets and maximises misery, disruption and hardship for passengers.

“Aslef’s move shows pure contempt for the travelling public and it still causes massive disruption over next week.

“These strikes are pointless and they should call the whole thing off and let common sense prevail.”

Additional reporting by PA