Rail strike hopes dashed

Strike action which will cripple some of the busiest lines into London for two days will go ahead tomorrow, the train drivers' union Aslef said tonight.

Talks with National Express East Anglia, which runs services including the Stansted Express airport train, ended today without the two sides reaching an agreement.

A spokesman for Aslef said the union's executive decided tonight to call a full week of strike action next month.

Action by members of Aslef, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) will start at 12.01am tomorrow and end at 11.59pm on Friday.

The walkout will create huge disruption to commuters in Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire who have already endured two 48 hour strikes in recent weeks.

National Express East Anglia said "most services will not run".

It said any trains which do run are expected to be "extremely busy".