Southern - the company running train services between London and Sussex and surrounding areas in the south east - has failed passengers again and again. It has around three times as many late or cancelled trains as the national average, with 44% of trains not arriving on time. 

Southern wants to switch to driver-only trains, while train staff represented by the RMT union want to see a guard on board for safety reasons. This is the kind of issue that comes up when our railway is run for profit rather than people. Southern is trying to maximise its profits, and the dispute is now causing chaos.

Instead of dealing with this problem head-on, Southern has now released a new updated rail timetable which will apply 'until further notice'. The new timetable has 341 fewer daily services. This means Southern's performance will look much better on paper - services can't be logged as late or cancelled if they're not running at all!

Passengers are furious. Over 13,000 people had already signed a petition (which the government has dismissed) calling for Southern's franchise to be taken away. A protest is planned at Victoria station this evening, and people are now talking about fare strikes.

So where is the government in all this? Surely if Southern is now cutting hundreds of services that it agreed to provide, it's not keeping up its end of the bargain? Rail minister Claire Perry is saying that 'serious questions' need to be asked and that Southern may not be able to bid for future franchises.

This is a cop out. Southern is supposed to provide a safe, punctual service to the people who depend on it. Without that service, people can't get to work, can't get home to their loved ones, can't plan their daily lives. Southern has clearly failed and its cuts will mean more overcrowding as passengers struggle to make their journeys.

The government cannot allow this situation to go on - it's time to take the service into public ownership. We know that this can work. When National Express pulled out of the east coast franchise in 2009, a state-owned company took over and ran an efficient service that returned £1 billion in profit to the Treasury (before being reprivatised).

66% of us want trains to be run for people not profit. How bad does it have to get before the government starts listening to passengers?

What can you do?

1) Join the protest at Victoria station, 5.30pm tonight.

2) Contact rail minister Claire Perry by email or on twitter asking her to bring the Southern franchise in-house. (Remember to be polite! It has more impact..)

3) Sign up to We Own It to help shift the debate on public ownership.

4) Share this page to spread the word.