RAILWAY strike action scheduled for Monday has been cancelled today.

STRIKE action which could have caused chaos for rail passengers in Suffolk and Essex has been postponed.

Commuters were bracing themselves for nightmare journeys on Monday after the RMT union pledged to hold industrial action in a dispute over jobs.

However this afternoon the union said it was putting the strike on hold to allow further talks to take place.

The action would have affected National Express East Anglian trains, which run between Norwich and London, as well as First Capital Connect services, with around 1,500 workers expected to have downed tools.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said: “We have been in intensive talks with both National Express and First Capital Connect, and significant progress has been made - not least that there have been no compulsory redundancies at either company.

“There is no doubt that the determination of RMT members and their decisive votes for strike action have played a major role in the progress we have made.

“First Capital Connect has modified proposals on booking office closures, including a reduction in the number of staff to be displaced, and a commitment that all displaced booking office staff will be retained.

“At National Express East Anglia there has also been significant progress made in discussions on reducing the use of agency and contract labour.

“In the light of these developments the RMT executive has suspended the action scheduled for Monday at both companies in order to allow talks to continue and to consult with our members on the proposals made.”

Peter Meades from National Express East Anglia welcomed the union's decision.

“We are in the business of running the best possible services and they would have been affected,” he said.

“Clearly the important news for our customers is that we will run a full scheduled service on Monday.”