Greater Anglia cancels 90% of trains on Saturday over strike

A strike by train drivers has caused disruption to services operated by Greater Anglia in the east of England.

Members of the ASLEF union are staging their second strike in two weeks; the latest 24-hour walk-out is again about a dispute over pay.

Passengers are being warned they will struggle to get to London on Saturday.

Greater Anglia’s Jonathan Denby said a minimal service was operating between Norwich and the capital, with only six trains running each way.

Last trains would end earlier than normal at 21:30 GMT.

Sunday services would start later in the morning than usual due to the 24-hour strike, and no regional or branch lines will be operating, the company said.

“The impact of a strike by train drivers is always going to be quite severe,” said Mr Denby.

“Again we apologise for that. The advice is to avoid travelling if at all possible and to look for alternatives.

“Clearly we are looking to resolve the dispute as soon as possible.”

Nigel Gibson from ASLEF said his members have not had a pay rise since April 2019.

“We believe working people deserve a pay rise to maintain the cost of living increase,” he said.

“Our members who work for Greater Anglia currently are on between £38,000 and £52,000 – despite what the transport minister says in relation to average earnings for train drivers, which he says is £59,000.“

Mr Gibson said he expected other unions to carry out further strikes after a ballot result returns next month.

Greater Anglia services to London operate through the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.

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