Industrial action brought rail travel chaos to south eastern England as workers from National Express East Anglia went on strike for 48 hours. One of the main lines affected was the London to Norwich line that is used by over two million commuters every week. Services were also disrupted throughout Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. The route between Stansted Airport and central London was cut to one train per hour, throwing travel plans into disarray. There are three more strikes planned throughout August.

National Express East Anglia released a statement declaring the action unnecessary and unrealistic. Managing director, Andrew Chivers said: “We have offered salary increases above the rate of inflation, and remain available at any time for discussions to reach a sensible, affordable and fair agreement.”

The strike action involves the Rail and Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Aslef members. They responded to the National Express statement by claiming that the company puts their profits ahead of their workforce and passengers.

National Express have already quit their £1.4 billion East Coast services. They were also issued with a stark warning by the government that they face losing further franchises. National Express have stated that they will fight the decision in court if the government choose to punish them in this way

RMT general secretary, Bob Crow said: “National Express have already created chaos through the impending collapse of their franchise on the East Coast route and under the franchise rules they should be given notice to quit on East Anglia and C2C lines.”

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