Greater Anglia service alterations due to industrial action between Thursday 4 April and Tuesday 9 April inclusive, including a full strike day on Monday 8 April

A Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia

Due to industrial action by members of the ASLEF union, Greater Anglia services will be affected by strike action on Monday 8 April, and action short of a strike from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April inclusive and on Tuesday 9 April. A normal service will operate on Sunday 7 April.

During the action short of a strike from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April and on Tuesday 9 April a normal timetable will be in place, with most services operating on all Greater Anglia routes, but with some planned cancellations.

However, on Monday 8 April, a full strike by ASLEF members will take place. A very limited train service will operate only on five core routes and, with the exception of the Stansted Express service, for a limited period. Those routes are:

Norwich – London Liverpool Street: hourly

Stansted Airport – London Liverpool Street: hourly

Colchester – London Liverpool Street: hourly

Southend Victoria – London Liverpool Street: hourly

Cambridge – London Liverpool Street: approx. bi-hourly

Apart from the Stansted Express, these services will start much later and will finish earlier than normal. We expect these services to be very busy and passengers are advised to plan ahead or consider travelling on alternative dates.

There will be no services at all on any other Greater Anglia routes on Monday 8 April.

Journey planners will be updated with exact train times three days before each strike date.

On 4, 5, 6 and 9 April, although most Greater Anglia services will operate, action short of a strike will lead to some cancellations on all Greater Anglia routes. Customers are advised to check before they travel to ensure they can plan their journeys accordingly.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia’s managing director, said:

“Unfortunately on the 8 April, 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 6 April and Sunday 7 April. 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 6 April and Sunday 7 April

Engineering work will take place across the Greater Anglia network on both Saturday 6 April February and Sunday 7 April 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.

The Stansted Airport to Norwich service will only run between Cambridge and Norwich.

London Liverpool Street to Shenfield, Southend Victoria and Southminster

In connection with engineering work taking place on the mainline between Shenfield and Witham (mainline passengers bussing to/from Billericay), train services between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield/Southend Victoria will operate as follows on Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday 6 April:

London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria train services will operate to a frequency of four trains per hour; i.e. every 15 minutes.

The Southminster branch line shuttle service is also retimed; operating every 45 minutes between Wickford and Southminster.

Sunday 7 April:

London Liverpool Street to Southend Victoria train services will have increased dwell times at Billericay and as a consequence will have slightly extended journey times.

The normal half-hourly London Liverpool Street to Clacton/Ipswich train services will be diverted to Wickford via Billericay.

London Liverpool Street to Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and branches

In connection with construction work for the new Beaulieu Park station, and track maintenance taking place between Shenfield and Chelmsford, the mainline will be closed between Shenfield and Witham all day on Saturday and Sunday.

Train services from Norwich, Ipswich, Clacton, Colchester, and Braintree will terminate at Witham, connecting into the following rail replacement bus routes:

Fast buses Witham to Billericay, for London bound passengers; taking approximately 50 minutes.

Stopper buses Witham to Billericay via Hatfield Peverel and Chelmsford; taking approximately 1 hour 5 minutes.

Connecting train services will operate between Billericay and London Liverpool Street, serving Shenfield and Stratford.

For passengers travelling to/from Ingatestone station, a shuttle bus service will operate between Chelmsford and Ingatestone, and between Ingatestone and Shenfield.

Stratford to Meridian Water and Hertford East (Sunday 7 April only)

In connection with track maintenance work taking place at Stratford, the line is closed between Stratford and Tottenham Hale all day on Sunday. No trains will operate to/from Stratford. Passengers are to travel via London Liverpool Street.

The Stratford to Meridian Water shuttle train service will not run.

The Stratford to Hertford East train service will be diverted to/from London Liverpool Street, calling additionally at Hackney Downs.

Lea Bridge and Meridian Water stations will be closed on Sunday.

London Liverpool Street to Shenfield (Sunday 7 April only)

In connection with track renewal works taking place between Maryland and Romford all day on Sunday, two of the four tracks between Stratford and Romford will be closed.

Greater Anglia and TfL Elizabeth Line services will be sharing the remaining two lines and as a result, journey times of Greater Anglia services will be extended by up to fifteen minutes over this section.

Trains will depart London Liverpool Street up to 15 minutes earlier than normal to maintain normal running times beyond Romford.

Information for fans travelling to the Norwich v Ipswich derby on Saturday 6 April

Most Greater Anglia services will run on Saturday 6th April 2024 but there may be some cancellations due to an ASLEF overtime ban. Its recommended that you check your journey on our website's journey planner or app 2-3 days before you travel.

There will be some additional services as follows:

Additional services

Before the match

• 10.50 Ipswich to Norwich (11.02 Stowmarket) due to arrive in Norwich at 11.35 – this is the last train from Ipswich scheduled to arrive before kick-off.

After the match

• 15.09 Norwich to Ipswich (calling Stowmarket 15.34) due to arrive in Ipswich at 15.46
• 15.24 Norwich to Ipswich (calling Stowmarket 15.53) due to arrive in Ipswich at 16.05

Train services are expected to be very busy immediately after the game.

Please note

The 11.06 service from Ipswich will be cancelled as a result of the ASLEF overtime ban.

The overtime ban also means it will not be possible to run extra services beyond those highlighted above, so where additional services would otherwise have been provided on routes such as the Norwich to Cambridge line, unfortunately this will not be possible on this occasion. However, every effort will be made to ensure as many carriages are provided as possible and that passengers on all routes are on the move as quickly as possible after the game.

We also strongly advise that passengers check the journey planner before they travel as there may be last-minute changes to the service.

Industrial action affecting other train operators

Please note that action short of a strike is affecting most UK train operators between 4 April and 9 April inclusive. In addition, most operators face full strike action on one of those days (see summary of the relevant dates below).