Managers on Southern rail have had to work as conductors on a reduced timetable that was brought in to cope with disruption, the RMT union has said.

The union, which is in dispute with the firm Govia Thameslink (GTR) over guards’ roles, said managers with the correct safety certification had been “press-ganged” into working on trains.

The new timetable which was brought in this week has seen 341 trains axed each day. Southern previously ran over 2000 services each weekday.

Angry commuters staged a demonstration at London Victoria on Monday.