Rail strikes disrupting passengers in East of England

Greater Anglia services will be affected during the disruption

The latest set of rail strikes are due to disrupt workers, tourists and Christmas shoppers throughout eastern England.

No c2c trains are running on Tuesday, while Greater Anglia customers are being warned to expect disruption.

Train drivers union Aslef said its members voted "overwhelmingly" to continue industrial action over pay.

The managing director of c2c said he was disappointed no agreement had been reached with Aslef.

Greater Anglia said a limited number of its services would operate, but passengers should check before they travel.

Jonathan Denby, from the company, said: "There will be no services between Cambridge and Ipswich, Cambridge and Norwich [and] Ipswich and Peterborough.

"Because of the way the strikes have been called, GTR Great Northern are not affected by the strike, so there will be services between King's Cross and Cambridge."

Trains will run approximately every two hours between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street, and around one train per hour will be operating between Norwich, Colchester and Southend and London.

Rob Mullen, managing director of c2c, said the action would have a "significant" impact on customers

The managing director of c2c, Rob Mullen, said: "The impact of this ongoing action is significant for our customers and colleagues.

"I'm hopeful that further meetings with the unions are productive and see progress made towards concluding this challenging time for the railway."

Yoginder Sandhu says the strikes this week mean additional travel costs will barley be covered by her work shifts

Passenger Yoginder Sandhu said she had to walk 25 minutes to Southend Victoria station only to find out there is only one train an hour and expects the rest of the week to be "very difficult" and expensive.

She said she normally gets c2c trains as they are cheaper and run from a station closer to her home.

Ms Sandhu said: "It's costing me so much to get to London to work. So, I probably won't earn enough from today's shift to even go to work.

"I work in a school so I have to go, there's no work from home. It's going to be difficult, it's nearly two hours to get home."

Aslef members have formed picket lines, including at Southend Victoria railway station

The government criticised Aslef's decision to press ahead with strikes, even though the RMT union had settled its dispute.

Rail minister Huw Merriman said: "Aslef is now not just the only rail union still striking, but the only union not to even put an offer to its members.

"The fair and reasonable offer that's long been on the table would bring the average train driver's salary up to £65,000 for a 35-hour, four-day week."

Mick Whelan, from Aslef union, said drivers had not had a real pay rise for five years

Mick Whelan, Aslef's general secretary, said: "Our members, who have not had a pay rise for nearly five years now, are determined that the train companies, and the Tory government that stands behind them, do the right thing.

"It's unrealistic and unfair to expect our members to work just as hard for what, in real terms, is considerably less."

Greater Anglia said its services on Wednesday, the day after the strike, would start later than usual.