Wednesday 16 Jul 2025
Chalkwell and Southend East station community events
- Region & Route:
- Eastern: Anglia
Plans to make Chalkwell and Southend East stations accessible with new lifts are to be displayed at community drop-in sessions this August.
Building new lifts at Chalkwell and Southend East stations will make it easier for all passengers to access c2c rail services along the Essex Thameside railway.
Network Rail and their contractor Octavius, are working with c2c and Southend City Council to plan the work to deliver these improvements which will change the way the stations operate for passengers during and after the work is complete.
In order to deliver the work, there will be some noticeable changes inside the station which will change the way passengers can access the platforms during the work. There will also be changes around the station environments, which may have some temporary localised impacts on those living nearby.
In order to provide an opportunity to talk about the improvements and explain how they will be delivered, Network Rail, Octavius and c2c are inviting passengers and residents and passengers to come and talk to representatives from the projects to understand more about the work and what this will mean for them.
Representatives from each organisation, will be available to answer questions from passengers and residents at a series of drop-in sessions at the Council’s Civic Centre on the following dates.
- 5 August· 17:00–19:30 · Committee Room 1
- 7 August · 10:00–12:30 · Committee Room 4
- 12 August · 17:30–20:00 · Committee Room 5
- 14 August · 10:00–12:30 · Committee Room 1
Location: Southend Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea SS1 9SH
No appointments are necessary, and members of the public can attend at their convenience to speak to members of the project team.
Preparations at Chalkwell are expected to begin this August, and at Southend East in September. The work at both stations is currently planned to be completed by the end of 2026.
More information can be found on our Anglia AFA webpage: www.networkrail.co.uk/AngliaAFA
Notes to Editors
- Octavius was awarded the contracts to deliver new lifts and footbridges at Chalkwell and Southend East in June 2025
- Access for All is a Government scheme to provide better access to the UK’s railway network, allowing all passengers to travel easily and confidently.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail Anglia Press Desk - Stephen Deaville
Senior Communications Manager
Network Rail
0330 8577 132
07734647627
AngliaPressDesk@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk