Southern Railway will cut its services through Watford, the company has announced.

The temporary revised weekday timetable comes into force from Monday to reduce the impact on passengers and staff of unpredictable and late notice cancellations.

The company claims issues surrounding the cancellations are down to unprecedented levels of train crew sickness and unwillingness among others to work overtime.

The operator is working with the Government to introduce more generous passenger compensation.

Southern has had issues with train crew availability ever since the RMT launched industrial action over the operator’s plans to hand control of who would close the doors from conductors to drivers.

Changes under the temporary timetable include the removal of the service from Milton Keynes train to Clapham Junction.

Mick Cash, leader of the RMT, said: "This is crisis management on Britain's biggest rail franchise, a franchise that is now in terminal meltdown.

"The continuing attempt to blame this gross mismanagement on the frontline staff is a cynical and cowardly ploy by a company who have chosen to wage war on their passengers and workforce alike.

"The managers at GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway) pay themselves fat salaries and bonuses in reward for failure on an epic scale while the staff on the trains and platforms are left to take the blame for the bosses' incompetence.

"This emergency timetable enables Govia to cancel 15 per cent of their trains and rig their appalling performance figures to protect their profits.

"Instead of conniving with this scandal, the Government should fire GTR and immediately instruct the legal, public sector fall-back operation to take over."