THOUSANDS of commuters will experience severe disruption this week on the East Anglian mainline.
Anthony Bond
THOUSANDS of commuters will experience severe disruption this week on the East Anglian mainline.
Talks between National Express East Anglia (NXEA) and the unions have broken down and the strike action is now likely to take place on Thursday and Friday.
Andrew Chivers, managing director of National Express East Anglia said: “The unions' demands are totally unrealistic, especially in this current economic climate.
“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.
“Strike action is unnecessary, simply not the solution and I would like to apologise to our customers.”
Unless the current position changes, the first of four 2-day strikes will go ahead on Thursday and Friday. Other strikes are called for on August 6 and 7, 13 and 14 and 20 and 21.
If members of the two trade unions involved take industrial action on these days, NXEA will be able to only run a limited train service on the East Anglian mainline.
The train operator said an alternative timetable will be published and it is likely that all trains will be “extremely busy” and passengers are recommended to spread their journey times wherever possible.
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