Thousands of rail passengers on one of the main lines into London faced disruption on Thursday as workers began a two-day strike, according to Reuters. Rail operator National Express East Anglia said it would run only a very limited service and most of its trains in and out of Liverpool Street mainline station would be cancelled on Thursday and Friday. More than 200,000 people use the service each day. Bob Crow, head of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union, said he expected more of his members to take part in the latest 48-hour strike than a similar walkout last week. "Our members have shown again that they are solid, angry and determined to secure a fair deal on pay and conditions from a company that is obsessed with maximising profits at the expense of staff and the travelling public," he said. "National Express have provoked this action and have alienated their entire workforce." The earlier strike in a row over pay and conditions caused severe disruption to commuters and people using Stansted Airport, north of London, at the height of the holiday season. The RMT and a second union, ASLEF, called a strike ballot in July, accusing the company of a "failure to make any kind of meaningful pay offer to staff" and Crow said he regretted the impact the strike would have. National Express East Anglia said last week that the unions had asked for an "unrealistic" 2.5 percent pay rise and a four-day working week for all its members. The company's managing director Andrew Chivers also apologised to passengers for the disruption. "We are extremely disappointed that the ASLEF and RMT unions have called this industrial action over their salary demands, despite lengthy negotiations where we have offered the unions a salary increase above the rate of inflation," he said. "In the present economic environment -- where many companies are freezing pay at current levels -- we believe the offers we have made are both realistic and appropriate. A further strike is planned for Aug. 20 and 21.
