Cable theft hits Greater Anglia services to London on eve of public takeover

Cable thieves have caused serious disruption to train services on the eve of a rail company's move into public ownership.

Greater Anglia services into and out of London Liverpool Street have been hit by the attack in the Shenfield area which has knocked out signalling.

Intercity services from Norwich, Ipswich and Chelmsford to the capital have all been affected, with some having to be cancelled, although by Saturday lunchtime cables had been replaced and services were starting to run again.

Greater Anglia said it had been told by Network Rail that trains could not run between Shenfield and Romford and London.

A spokesperson said: "Response teams from Network Rail and British Transport Police are at the affected area, working on replacing the cables."

Greater Anglia said services from Clacton, Colchester Town, Braintree and Southend Victoria were all hit too, plus the Elizabeth Line between Stratford and Shenfield.

On Sunday Greater Anglia will become the third operator to be nationalised by the Labour Government.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said Greater Anglia would “continue to thrive” under public ownership and “be used as a benchmark for other operators”.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know