Strikes by Greater Anglia employees who are members of the train drivers’ union ASLEF and train drivers who are members of the RMT union will severely disrupt train services in East Anglia on some days next week.

The unions have called for strikes to be held next Wednesday, 1st, and Friday, 3rd February. Passengers intending to travel on those days are advised to avoid travelling if possible, if they do need to make a rail journey they should check before they travel.

On the strike days, Greater Anglia will only be able to run very few services, with no services at all on regional or branch lines, and other train operators will also be affected by the strike action.

The only services to run will be on routes from London Liverpool Street to Norwich, Colchester, Southend Victoria, Cambridge, and Stansted Airport. Services will be far less frequent than normal, and only operate for limited hours. There will be no rail-replacement buses provided to replace trains not running due to the strike.

Greater Anglia’s website at https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/strikes has details of the revised timetables and the times of the first and last trains on the strike days. Trains that do run are not expected to start before 7.30am, operate only to an hourly frequency, and the last trains of the day will run earlier than usual.

Because of the strikes, on Thursday, 2nd, and Saturday, 4th February, the first services of the day will start later than usual, and services will not be back to a normal full service until the early afternoon.

Anyone who has already booked tickets to travel on the strike days can change them for use on either the day before or up to two days later, or apply for a refund from the outlet where they originally bought their tickets.

Passenger assistance will continue to be available for all trains that do run. However, anyone who does require assistance when using the train and who cannot avoid travelling on strike days is strongly advised to plan their journey and book their assistance in advance if possible.

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.”