Southern Railway train drivers will now walk out at the end of the month and next week, it's been revealed.

The union Aslef announced today that next week's strike will last three days instead of the original six - on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

But further action is now planned for the 24th, 25th and 27th of January.

Southern Rail announced 200 replacements buses are going to be brought in during the three-day strike by drivers next week.

But it means services on Southeastern are expected to be a lot busier.

Commuters heading for stations in Kent will be able to use the same tickets on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, said today: "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.

"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."