THOUSANDS of soldiers could be brought in to drive rail replacement buses during rail strikes.

The Government is hoping to overcome disruption caused by ongoing industrial action on Southern Railway.

The past eight months have seen multiple strikes by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) over changes to the role of its conductors while, more recently, Aslef members who are drivers on Southern have also been striking.

Now Conservative MPs have been lobbying ministers over bringing in up to 4,000 soldiers to negate any future strike action, as reported in a national newspaper.

The move would be similar to the Army's "green goddess" fire engines that went on the run instead of standard appliances during a firefighters' strike 14 years ago.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT, has responded, saying: "Instead of resorting to lash-up stunts for public relations purposes, Theresa May should be instructing her Southern rail contractors to get back around the table and sort out the issues about passenger safety at the heart of this dispute.

‎"The collapse in industrial relations on Southern can all be traced back to the comments of top Government rail official Peter "Punch Up" Wilkinson back in February when he made it clear at a meeting in Croydon that he was actively seeking a war with staff and their unions.

"If she's serious about getting a grip Mrs May needs to scrap that agenda of confrontation and give us an opportunity to engage in genuine and meaningful talks."