Hundreds of rail services have been impacted by the latest round of RMT union strikes this morning including Southern and South Western lines.

The strike by the RMT union over disputes with South Western Railway and Southern Trains will take place on November 8 and 9.

The union is in dispute over driver-only operated (DOO) trains, also known as driver-controlled operated (DCO).

Both companies will be running a reduced service across both days – South Western Railway will run 65 per cent of services and Southern will run more than 90 per cent.

Hundreds of services will be cancelled, replacement buses will be laid on and services that do run will be busier than normal, passengers have been warned.

The biggest disruption is threatened at SWR, which only took over the franchise from South West Trains in August, with more than a third of services set to be hit.

Commuters on Southern Rail are no strangers to cancellations and delays, with more than 30 days’ worth of strikes on their lines in the last 18 months and no sign of it stopping any time soon.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with the different train operating companies over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces and we are left with no option but to confirm a further phase of industrial action in early November.

“It is frankly ludicrous that we have been able to negotiate long-term arrangements in Scotland and Wales that protect the guards and passenger safety but we are being denied the same opportunities with rail companies in England. This suspension of normal industrial relations by the employers has to end if we are to make progress towards a solution that guarantees safe rail travel for all.

A Transport Department spokesman said: "The RMT is playing a political game, however it has backfired as Southern will be running more than 90 per cent of services for passengers.

“This dispute is not about jobs – Southern has already introduced the changes which the unions are striking over and no one has lost their job or any pay as a result – in fact there are more staff on Southern trains. It’s also not about safety, as the independent rail regulator has ruled that driver-controlled trains which have been used in this country for thirty years, are safe.

Southern are running a reduced timetable which can be checked here.