Media centre

Wednesday 22 Apr 2015

Check before you travel over May Bank Holiday as work to upgrade railway in the east of England continues

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Passengers planning to travel to London during the May Bank Holiday from Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk should check before they travel as Network Rail will be carrying out vital upgrades on the London to Norwich line.

On Sunday May 3 and Monday May 4, trains will not be able to run between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone or Wickford in Essex as engineers will be renewing overhead lines, installing new track and upgrading the line in preparation for Crossrail.

Abellio Greater Anglia will operate bus replacement services between a number of stations on the main line and Newbury Park tube station where passengers will be able to continue their journey to Stratford or London Liverpool Street via the Central Line. Services to Cambridge and Stansted Express will not be affected by this work. 

Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said: “These upgrades are a vital step towards us being able to provide better, smoother and more reliable journeys for the millions of passengers who use this essential rail artery every year.

“We try our best to minimise the impact on passengers and do most of the work behind the scenes, but there are big pieces of work that can only be completed when the railway is clear of trains. We would like to thank passengers in advance for bearing with us as it will mean some changes to their travel plans.”

Jamie Burles, Managing Director, Abellio Greater Anglia said: “Although there is never a good time for such works, this investment will help in our joint objective with Network Rail to deliver more consistent train service performance. We will be doing all we can to provide the best possible alternative service during these improvement works."

Work will be carried out at the following locations over the May Bank Holiday in the east of England:

Between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone/Wickford (Sunday May 3 and Monday May 4):

• Maintenance work at London Liverpool Street to improve reliability
• Crossrail works at Pudding Mill Lane near Stratford
• New track installed at Chadwell Heath, east London
• Overhead lines upgrades at Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park, east London
• Engineers will also be upgrading the track layout at Brentwood in Essex in preparation for Crossrail

Between Ipswich and Felixstowe (late Saturday May 2, Sunday May 3 and Monday May 4):

• 1,200 metres of new track will be installed at Derby Road meaning the line will be closed from 20.50 on Saturday May 2.
• Rail replacement services will operate between Ipswich and Felixstowe on Sunday and Monday all day as the line is upgraded.

Between Ely and Peterborough (Sunday May 3 only):

• As a result of track maintenance, the lines between Ely and Peterborough will be closed all day on Sunday May 3.
• Rail replacement services will operate between these two stations.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Service information is available on the Abellio Greater Anglia website 12 weeks in advance. Abellio also produce monthly posters for each month's engineering works for display at stations and this is also available from their website. Visit http://www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk/

May Bank Holiday weekend service summary

Saturday May 2

• A normal Saturday service will run on the main lines from London Liverpool Street to Norwich and London Liverpool Street to Cambridge.
• Rail replacement services will operate between Ipswich and Felixstowe from 20.50 on Saturday.

 

Sunday May 3

• For passengers travelling into London, buses will replace rail services from Ingatestone/Wickford to Newbury Park tube station where passengers can use the Central Line to Stratford and London Liverpool Street.
• Buses will replace rail services from Shenfield, Brentwood, Harold Wood, Gidea Park and Romford to Newbury Park tube station.
• Passengers travelling to and from stations between Stratford and Romford are to use the TfL route 86 bus service.
• Rail replacement services will operate between Ely and Peterborough all day
• Rail replacement services will operate between Ipswich and Felixstowe all day
• Services to Cambridge and Stansted Express are not affected by this work 

 

Monday May 4

• For passengers travelling into London, Buses will replace rail services from Ingatestone/Wickford to Newbury Park tube station where passengers can use the Central Line to Stratford and London Liverpool Street
• Buses will replace rail services from Shenfield, Brentwood, Harold Wood, Gidea Park and Romford to Newbury Park tube station
• Passengers travelling to/from stations between Stratford and Romford are to use the TfL route 86 bus service.
• Rail replacement services will operate between Ipswich and Felixstowe all day
• Services to Cambridge and Stansted Express are not affected by this work

 

Spring Bank Holiday service summary (Monday May 25)

• In the Spring Bank Holiday later this month, work to upgrade the railway in the east of England will continue but is much less disruptive. There is no planned improvement work on Saturday May 23.
• Passengers will be able to travel by train into Stratford (apart from Sunday morning until 10.40) on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 May but trains will not serve Liverpool Street on these days on the main line between London and Norwich. This is because of Crossrail upgrades being carried out at Pudding Mill Lane. Passengers should change at Stratford for travel to and from Liverpool Street via London Underground Central Line.
• The West Anglia Main Line to Cambridge and Stansted Express will operate a normal Saturday service on Monday May 25 from 8am.