Greater Anglia warns of “severe disruption” due to industrial action
Greater Anglia is advising people to only travel if absolutely necessary and expect severe disruption as national rail strikes – should they go ahead – are set to heavily reduce train services next week The RMT union is holding three 24-hour strikes on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June, with members of the train drivers union ASLEF also striking on Thursday 23 June – affecting all Greater Anglia services. The industrial action includes Network Rail signallers who are members of the RMT union. If the strikes go ahead, the train company will not be running any services on its regional and branch lines, while a very limited service will operate on some routes to and from London Liverpool Street for part of the day. Services running will only operate from 7.30am, with the last trains finishing their journeys by 6.30pm. The full strike day timetables should be available on the Greater Anglia website from Friday 17 June. Anyone who has pre-booked tickets to travel on strike days can change them, use them to travel on the day before or up to two days after their original travel date, or apply for a refund by going back to their original retailer. There will be no services running on the following routes on Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June:
- Between Norwich and Cambridge/Stansted Airport, Sheringham, Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth
- Between Ipswich and Cambridge, Peterborough, Felixstowe and Lowestoft
- Between Marks Tey and Sudbury
- All other branch lines: Hertford East to Broxbourne, Braintree to Witham, Southminster to Wickford, Harwich Town to Manningtree, Clacton/Walton-on-the-Naze to Colchester, Colchester Town to Colchester, Meridian Water to Stratford.
A very limited and much reduced service – with fewer trains running and so fewer seats available – will run starting at 7.30am and finishing at 6.30pm on the following routes:
- Norwich to London Liverpool Street intercity service – one train an hour, with first and last trains from Norwich to Liverpool Street at 08.00 and 16.00, and first and last trains from Liverpool Street to Norwich at 08.30 and 16.30.
- Colchester to London Liverpool Street stopping service – one stopping train an hour plus one intercity service an hour, with the first and last stopping services from Colchester to London Liverpool Street at 07.30 and 16.25 and from London Liverpool Street to Colchester at 08.00 and 17.00.
- Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street – two trains an hour with first and last trains from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street at 07.30 and 17.13, and from London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria at 07.47 and 17.30.
- Stansted Express Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street – two trains an hour (reducing to one train an hour on Thursday 23 June, when train drivers are also on strike), with first and last trains from Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street at 07.42 and 17.12 and from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport at 08.10 and 17.40
- Cambridge to London Liverpool Street – one train an hour with some possible further alterations on Thursday 23 June, when train drivers are also on strike, with the first trains from Cambridge to London Liverpool Street at 08.20 and 16.20 and from Cambridge North to London Liverpool Street at 09.13 and 16.13. First and last trains from Liverpool Street to Cambridge/Cambridge North at 08.25 and 16.25/15.25.
The 24-hour strikes will also have a knock-on effect on services on days immediately before and after the days when industrial action is taking place, so customers are advised to check before they travel on Monday 20, Wednesday 22, Friday 24 and Sunday 26 June. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “Please only travel if it’s absolutely necessary on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when strikes are due to take place. “If you do travel, you should expect severe disruption, so plan ahead and make alternative arrangements to travel if you can. Please also check travel times for any journeys planned for the days before and after any strike action. “We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers by this industrial action.” More information about how industrial action will affect rail journeys and how to apply for ticket changes or refunds are available on the Greater Anglia website.