Rail travellers face more disruption this week due to industrial action
Rail travellers across Suffolk[1] are set to face more disruption this week due to industrial action.
Greater Anglia have provided service alterations and have advised customers to check before they travel due to the action taking place on Friday, September 1 and Saturday, September 2.
On Friday, strike action will take place by the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) - a British trade union representing train drivers.
As a result, a heavily reduced train service will operate on core routes, generally starting much later than normal and finishing earlier.
On Saturday, ASLEF action short of a strike is taking place, alongside RMT strike action.
Trains will run on most routes between 07:00 – 23:00, with some routes closed. Engineering work is also taking place on the network and the impact on services is expected to be as follows for Friday, September 1.
Trains will operate on the following routes only:
Cambridge – London Liverpool Street: about every two hours
Departures from:
London – first train at 9.58am and last train at 6.58pm.
Cambridge – first train at 8.20am and last train at 5.20pm.
Norwich – London Liverpool Street: hourly
Departures from:
London – first train at 10.30am and last train at 9.30pm.
Norwich – first train at 8am and last train at 7pm.
Stansted Airport – London Liverpool Street: hourly
Departures from:
London – first train at 4.40am and last train at 11.25pm.
Stansted Airport – first train at 5.43am and last train at 11.45pm.
Colchester – London Liverpool Street: hourly
Departures from:
London – first train at 10am and last train at 10pm.
Colchester – first train at 8.13am and last train at 8.13pm.
Southend Victoria – London Liverpool Street: hourly
Departures from:
London – first train at 9.47am and last train at 11.45am.
Southend Victoria – first train at 8.13am and last train at 10pm.
Service plans for Saturday, September 2:
Trains will be running between 7am and 11pm, with many routes having a normal or near normal service between those hours. Some routes will have a reduced frequency and certain routes will see no services at all.
The following services will not run:
Colchester – Walton-on-the-Naze via Colchester Town
Manningtree – Harwich Town
Passengers should be aware that these routes will run at the following frequency:
Braintree - London Liverpool Street: hourly
Cambridge/Cambridge North – London Liverpool Street: hourly
Clacton-on-Sea - London Liverpool Street: hourly
Colchester Town - Colchester: every 35 minutes
Ipswich - London Liverpool Street: hourly
Southend Victoria - London Liverpool Street: every 20 minutes
Stansted Airport - London Liverpool Street: every 30 minutes
Ipswich - Lowestoft: two hourly
Bury St Edmunds[5] - Cambridge: hourly
Bury St Edmunds - Peterborough: two hourly
Norwich - Great Yarmouth: hourly
Norwich - Lowestoft: hourly
Norwich - Sheringham: hourly
Norwich - Stansted Airport: hourly
Wickford – Southminster: every 80 minutes
Ipswich Town v Cardiff City
Supporters visiting Portman Road are advised to check before they travel due to industrial action and engineering work taking place on our network.
Due to track and overhead line work being carried out, a rail replacement service will replace trains all weekend:
-between Norwich and Ipswich (direct bus: 90 minutes / all-stations bus: two hours)
-between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds
A summary of the service patterns for each route on affected dates is available on either National Rail Enquiries or www.greateranglia.co.uk.
Some services are also affected by engineering works
Engineering work summary – Saturday, September 2 and Sunday, September 3:
Due to track and overhead line work being carried out, a rail replacement service will replace trains all weekend:
-between Norwich and Ipswich (direct bus: 90 minutes / all-stations bus: two hours)
-between Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds
On all days affected by industrial action, there is a risk of short-notice service alterations or cancellations. Services on the days after strike days also start slightly later than normal.
Other train operators are also affected by both sets of industrial action.
Passenger assistance arrangements will be available as usual on all days, but anyone requiring assistance should plan their journey and book assistance in advance if possible.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia’s managing director, said: “With industrial action taking place on Saturday there will be some alterations and cancellations across our network, plus some routes where no trains will run at all.
“While on Friday it is expected that trains only will operate on four routes, with no services at all on the rest of the network.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by these service alterations and advise customers to plan ahead and check before they travel.”
Customers can find all train times by using journey planners on either National Rail Enquiries or www.greateranglia.co.uk
Journey planners will be updated with exact train times three days before each strike date.
References
- ^ Suffolk (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Ipswich (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Felixstowe (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Sudbury (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Bury St Edmunds (www.suffolknews.co.uk)