Service Alterations Due to Industrial Action Late January through Early February
Industrial action by members of the ASLEF union will result in service alterations on the East Suffolk Lines and across the rest of the Greater Anglia network from Monday 29 January to Tuesday 6 February.
Action Short of a Strike
From 29 January to 1 February, and 3 February to 6 February, most services will operate across the Greater Anglia network including the East Suffolk Lines (both Ipswich – Lowestoft and Ipswich – Felixstowe) but there will be some planned cancellations.
Strike action Friday 2 February
On Friday 2 February a full strike will take place. There will be no service on the East Suffolk Lines and most other Greater Anglia routes outside of a very limited service on five core routes and, with the exception of the Stansted Express service, for a limited period.
The five routes that will operate Friday 2 February:
Norwich – London Liverpool Street: hourly
| Departure from… | First train | Last train |
| Norwich | 08:00 | 19:00 |
| London Liverpool Street | 10.30 | 21.30 |
Stansted Airport – London Liverpool Street: hourly
| Departure from… | First train | Last train |
| Stansted Airport | 05:50 | 23:45 |
| London Liverpool Street | 04.40 | 23.25 |
Colchester – London Liverpool Street: hourly
| Departure from… | First train | Last train |
| Colchester | 08:13 | 20:13 |
| London Liverpool Street | 10.00 | 22.00 |
Southend Victoria – London Liverpool Street: hourly
| Departure from… | First train | Last train |
| Southend Victoria | 08:13 | 22:00 |
| London Liverpool Street | 09.47 | 23.45 |
Cambridge – London Liverpool Street: approx. every 2 hours
| Departure from… | First train | Last train |
| Cambridge | 08.20 | 17.20 |
| London Liverpool Street | 10.28 | 19.28 |
Apart from the Stansted Express, these services will start much later and will finish earlier than normal. Services are expected to be very busy; passengers are advised to plan ahead or consider travelling on alternative dates.
Other Operators
Passengers are advised that Great Northern and Thameslink will be running services between Cambridge and London Kings Cross on 2 February as these train operators will be affected by action short of a strike, not a full strike, on that day.
Updated Timetables
Online and mobile app journey planners will be updated with exact train times three days before each strike date.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia’s managing director, said:
“Unfortunately on the 2 February, no services will run at all on most Greater Anglia routes, with just an hourly service during normal operating hours on the Stansted Airport to London route and an hourly service for limited hours on the Norwich to London, Colchester to London and Southend Victoria to London routes, plus a few services between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street.
“On the days affected by action short of a strike, the vast majority of services will be running as normal, but there will be some alterations and cancellations across our network.
“Please note that an extensive engineering works programme will also take place on Saturday 3 February and Sunday 4 February. This work is extremely important to help maintain the safe and reliable running of the railway and make it fit for the future. A rail replacement service will run while the work takes place.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by these service alterations and advise customers to plan ahead and check before they travel.”
Engineering Work on Saturday 3 February and Sunday 4 February
Engineering work will take place on some Greater Anglia routes on both Saturday 3 February and Sunday 4 February and a rail replacement bus service will be in operation. Further details:
London Liverpool Street to Cambridge
In connection with construction work for the new Cambridge South station, the line will be closed between Audley End and Cambridge all day on Saturday and Sunday.
Trains from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge will start/terminate at Audley End, connecting into rail replacement bus services to/from Cambridge North. A frequent train service will operate between Cambridge North and Cambridge.
Stansted Airport to Norwich
The service will only run between Cambridge and Norwich.
London Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Southend Victoria and Southminster
In connection with track renewal works, all lines will be closed between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield, Southend Victoria and Southminster all day on Saturday and Sunday.
Rail replacement buses will operate between Southend Victoria and Newbury Park underground station, calling at all stations between Southend Victoria and Shenfield. From Newbury Park passengers are to use TfL Central Line underground services forward to Stratford and London Liverpool Street.
Rail replacement buses will also operate between Wickford and Southminster.
London Liverpool Street to Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and branches
In connection with track renewal works, all lines will be closed between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield all day on Sunday.
Trains from Norwich, Ipswich, Clacton and Colchester will terminate at Shenfield.
Connecting rail replacement bus services will operate from Ingatestone to Newbury Park underground station. From Newbury Park passengers are to use TfL Central Line underground services forward to Stratford and London Liverpool Street.
Shuttle train services will operate between Witham and Braintree, Marks Tey and Sudbury, Thorpe-le-Soken and Walton-on-the-Naze, and between Manningtree and Harwich Town.
London Liverpool Street to Cheshunt (from 23:15 Sunday 4 February only)
In connection with track maintenance work taking place between Tottenham Hale and Cheshunt from 23:15 until close of service on Sunday, West Anglia and Stansted Express services will be diverted between London Liverpool Street and Cheshunt, serving Seven Sisters instead of Tottenham Hale. Journey times will be extended several minutes as a result.