Greater Anglia - along with most rail operators - is continuing to face a difficult summer with another weekend of disruption facing passengers at what should be one of the busiest times of the year.

Trains will be seriously disrupted on Saturday and Sunday - the weekend of the Latitude Festival near Southwold, an event that usually attracts thousands to travel to the area by train.

On Saturday, a strike by ASLEF drivers will mean there is only an hourly service between London, Ipswich and Norwich and no services on other local routes.

There will be no bus replacement services on Saturday - although people from West Suffolk could travel to London by driving to Cambridge because Great Northern Services will not be affected.

On Sunday, engineering work between Shenfield and London means there will be a bus replacement service taking passengers from Ingatestone station south of Chelmsford to Newbury Park Central line station.

And there are more problems expected later in the summer - the RMT union is planning strikes in its pay dispute with rail companies on July 27 and August 18 and 20. Another ASLEF strike is planned on July 30.

This disruption is being planned as the rail industry recovers from serious disruption caused by this week's extreme heat.

But despite the problems, Greater Anglia says the number of passengers - particularly leisure travellers - continues to rise on days when services run normally.

A Greater Anglia spokesperson said: “We are currently carrying just over 80% of passengers compared to pre-pandemic levels. We’re pleased to welcome more and more people back to the railway, to take advantage of the excellent service we can offer with our new trains.

“We would like to apologise for the recent disruption caused by the ongoing strikes and the extreme heat earlier this week.

“We try to give people as much notice as possible for disruptive events such as strikes and extreme weather, so they can plan their journeys.

“The railway remains one of the greenest ways to travel, which is a growing consideration for many people, as the effects of climate change become more prevalent."