Credit: Greater Anglia Greater Anglia is advising rail passengers, including football fans and people travelling to work and school or college, to avoid travelling by train on Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 September as national rail strikes are set to cause widespread disruption. Football matches affected by next week’s strikes include Arsenal v PSV Eindhoven on Thursday and Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City on Saturday. East Anglian teams playing on Saturday include Norwich City, Peterborough United, Cambridge United, Ipswich Town and Colchester United. Fans are strongly advised to make alternative arrangements, as are students travelling to school or college and people commuting to work, because Greater Anglia is only able to run a heavily reduced service with last trains departing in the late afternoon – before the end of the working day and the final whistle in most cases. RMT trade union members, including Greater Anglia’s conductors, train cleaners and station staff and Network Rail’s signallers and maintenance teams are striking on Thursday 15 and Saturday 17 September. Members of ASLEF train drivers’ union are also striking on Thursday 15 September. Greater Anglia will run a very reduced service on routes into London Liverpool Street from Norwich, Colchester and Southend Victoria and the Stansted Express only, with first trains starting after 7.30am and completing their journeys by 6.30pm. There will be no services on branch or regional lines on both days and no services between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street on Thursday 15 September. Morning services on Friday 16 September and Sunday 18 September will also be affected by the strike, with most services starting later than usual at 7/7.30am. Services should be back to normal by early afternoon. Also on Saturday 17 September, due to engineering work, there is a rail replacement bus service between Colchester and Ingatestone which will connect with the heavily reduced train service. There will be no rail replacement buses to replace trains not running due to the strike. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We are very sorry that once again our customers will be disrupted by strikes, which this time will affect young people back at school or college after the summer break, commuters, business travellers, students travelling back to university, football fans and people hoping to enjoy a late summer day out by train. “We’re only able to run a fraction of our usual services, so our advice again is to avoid using our trains. “The rail industry is working hard to resolve these disputes and talks will continue with ASLEF and RMT in an effort to avert the strike.”
