Rail disruption expected despite strikes called off in the East

Greater Anglia says they found out too late to change the timetable

Author: Abi SimpsonPublished 5th Nov 2022
Last updated 5th Nov 2022

Rail passengers in the East are being warned there will still be disruption to services today despite strike action being suspended last minute.

Greater Anglia says they found out too late to be able to change the timetable back to normal for today.

The RMT Union was supposed to be striking today, on Monday and on Wednesday - but it was called off last night.

The rail company which operates across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex is still advising passengers to check before travelling today.

Anyone thinking about getting a train on Monday is also being urged to check for updates over the weekend in case full services can't be brought back for then either.

What is running?

Only trains between London Liverpool Street and Norwich, Colchester, Southend Victoria and Cambridge and the Stansted Express service will run on Saturday – starting at 7.30am and finishing by 6.30pm.

No trains are planned to run on any other routes.

Services will also be later starting up on Sunday morning, as planned, due to the disruption caused by planning for strike action.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We welcome the news that the RMT have called off their strikes, it’s a positive step for the rail industry and our passengers.

“We’re very sorry that due to the complexities of timetabling which has to be co-ordinated with other train companies and Network Rail, plus the rostering of ours and Network Rail’s staff, we cannot switch back to our usual Saturday timetable at such short notice.

“However, we are working hard with our colleagues at Network Rail to get services back to normal as soon as possible after the weekend.

“At the same time, the rail industry is continuing with talks with the RMT to try to get a resolution.”

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.