Passengers warned of Greater Anglia rail strike as holiday getaway begins

People heading off on holiday are being warned they could face delays and disruption on a busy getaway weekend as Greater Anglia train drivers strike.

Road protests have led to delays on the motorway network in some parts of the country, while disputes in the rail industry mean trains are being cancelled.

Members of the ASLEF and RMT union will be striking five times in the next month, with people urged not to travel on each of the strike days.

Members of train drivers' union Aslef will walk out on Saturday 23 July and Saturday 30 July, while RMT members, including Network Rail signallers and maintenance teams and Greater Anglia station staff, cleaners, conductors and revenue protection teams, are joining a national strike on Wednesday 27 July.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: "We are asking people to avoid travelling with us because we are only able to run a heavily reduced service, with fewer trains and so fewer seats available.

"These strikes coincide with the Latitude Festival, in Suffolk, the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the start of the Football League season with many of our local teams due to play.

"We understand how frustrated our customers feel about their travel plans being disrupted, especially when there are so many events going on."

Passengers are being warned not to travel on strike days Credit: ITV Anglia

On Saturday 23 July there will be no services between Cambridge/Bishop's Stortford and London Liverpool Street or on any regional or branch lines.

On Wednesday 27 July, if no agreement is made with the RMT, there is likely to be a very limited service on lines into London Liverpool Street only, with no trains before 7.30am and every journey complete by 6.30pm, meaning most last trains from Liverpool Street will be between 4pm and 5pm. No trains will run on branch or regional lines.

Strike days on Greater Anglia services:

  • Saturday 23rd July (ASLEF union)

  • Wednesday 27th July (RMT union)

  • Saturday 30th July (ASLEF union)

  • Thursday 18th August (RMT union)

  • Saturday 20th August (RMT union)

Stansted Airport is expecting more than five million passengers to fly from the Essex airport during July and August this year - close to pre-pandemic levels.

People are being asked to arrive at what the airport calls an "appropriate time" for their flight, warning that arriving too early can create congestion.

Nick Millar, London Stansted’s operations director, said: “We’ve run a successful recruitment campaign since January and filled hundreds of roles in our security operation.

“As a result, our terminal operation and airline flight schedule have both performed well so far. We’ve experienced very few flight cancellations, and although the terminal is very busy, especially at peak times, our security process has been stable with passengers passing through on average in 15 minutes or less."

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