Above: Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia Passengers are being advised to avoid travelling with Greater Anglia, and to check before they do travel, if they do need to make a rail journey on 1 and 3 February, when strike action will affect train services. Members of the train drivers’ union ASLEF and train drivers who are members of the RMT union, who work for Greater Anglia are striking on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February. Greater Anglia services will be severely disrupted, with the company only able to run a fraction of its services and no services at all running on regional or branch lines. The only services running will be a much-reduced service for limited hours between Norwich and London Liverpool Street, Colchester and London, Southend Victoria and London, and Stansted Airport and London. The company is therefore advising people to avoid travelling on its trains on strike days, as services will be severely disrupted. Revised timetables will be published on Greater Anglia’s website as soon as they are available, along with first and last train times, but the service is expected to operate as follows on the strike days:
- Much-reduced train service between Norwich and London Liverpool Street; Colchester and London Liverpool Street; and between Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street
- Much-reduced Stansted Express services between Stansted Airport and London Liverpool Street
- Trains that do run are expected to start from 7.30am onwards, operating only to an hourly frequency, with all last trains then completing their journeys earlier than usual (by mid-late evening)
- No services running on other lines, including between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street or on regional/branch lines
There will be no rail replacement buses to replace trains not running due to the strike. First services on Thursday 2 and Saturday 4 February will also start later than usual due to the strikes and Greater Anglia advises that its network won’t be back to normal full service on 2 and 4 February until the early afternoon. Other train operators are also affected by the strike action. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We are very sorry that once again our customers will be disrupted by strikes. We’re only able to run a fraction of our usual services, so our advice again is to avoid using our trains on strike days. The rail industry is working hard to resolve these disputes and talks will continue with ASLEF and RMT to reach an agreement.” Anyone who has pre-booked tickets to travel on strike days can change them, use them to travel on either the day before or up to two days later, or apply for a refund by going back to their original retailer. Passenger assistance will be available as usual for all trains which are running. Anyone requiring assistance who cannot avoid travelling by train on strike days should plan their journey and book assistance in advance if possible. Further information is available from greateranglia.co.uk/strikes and the company’s social media, which will be updated as details are finalised. Other train companies affected by strikes on all days are Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, GTR (including Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink), LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.