Media centre

Thursday 23 Jun 2016

Severe flooding affects commuters travelling from Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex in London

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

| Southern

Heavy rainfall across the Anglia region caused severe disruption to passengers travelling in from Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex into London this morning, as flooding at Manor Park, Seven Kings, Maryland and Ilford, between Colchester and Manningtree and between Shoeburyness and London Fenchurch Street meant it was unsafe to run trains through the affected areas.

Around 600 of Network Rail’s orange army have been out across the region with pumps to get water away from the tracks, repair damage and prevent further flooding.

Two of the four lines into Liverpool Street have reopened at 1300 to run a reduced service but there is still water damage to signalling equipment. Work is taking place to repair this and reopen all lines later this afternoon, so more trains can run.

On the line into Fenchurch Street, flooding in different areas has caused delays to many services throughout the day.

Steve Hooker, Network Rail area director for Anglia said: “I apologise to all the passengers who were affected by the flooding today.  Hundreds of our orange army have been out in force working hard to pump water away from the tracks, repair damage and prevent further flooding. Unfortunately the flash flooding and sheer amount of rain has overwhelmed the drainage systems and water levels rose above the rails which meant it was unsafe to run trains. 

“Lines have now reopened but a reduced service is in operation with speed restrictions as waterlogged signalling equipment is still affected. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience and encourage them to allow extra time for any journeys going home tonight, to leave early if this is possible, and check before they travel.”

Andrew Goodrum, customer service director said: "We're sorry for the disruption caused to passengers by extensive flooding between Ilford and Stratford today. As soon as lines could be re-opened we restored as many services as possible. We have also lifted ticket restrictions and passengers who were unable to travel today can use their tickets tomorrow. We are working with Network Rail to restore a full service as soon as possible."

c2c delivery director, Kevin Frazer, said: "We're sorry for the difficult journey that everyone endured this morning, and we and Network Rail will continue to do our utmost to return to the service people expect as soon as possible. We've tried to get as many passengers as possible to work from across the region, but that means c2c trains have been very busy as a result, and this will be the case again this evening."

Notes to Editors

Unfortunately the A12 and A13 were also experiencing problems with localised flooding and heavy congestion which hindered bus replacement services.

Those affected can claim compensation for their journey. AGA customers should visit http://www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk/about-us/our-performance/delay-repay for further details and c2c customers should visit: www.c2c-online.co.uk/assistance/delay-repay/.