Eight days of strikes on railways

Rail union bosses have ordered eight days of strikes on London mainline commuter trains.

The strikes on National Express East Anglia services into Liverpool Street will be divided into four 48-hour stoppages.

They will take place on Thursdays and Fridays, on 30 and 31 July then 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 August.

The RMT and Aslef unions, which represent most train drivers and station staff, have combined to order the walkouts in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions.

Joint action would stop the vast majority of East Anglia services. Bob Crow, the RMT leader, accused National Express of paying "peanuts" despite making £500million from its rail operations over the past decade.

The group looks likely to lose its East Coast franchise after Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary, said it would go into public ownership.

National Express said: "Strike action is not the solution and it will only result in difficult times for our customers."