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Friday 21 Aug 2015

Check before you travel this August bank holiday as upgrades on London to Norwich line continue

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Passengers planning to travel between London Liverpool Street and Norwich are being reminded to check before they travel this August bank holiday as Network Rail will be carrying out improvements as part of its railway upgrade plan. 

On Sunday August 30 and Monday August 31, engineers will be installing new track at Ipswich tunnel to improve reliability, meaning buses will replace trains between Colchester and Ipswich.

Steve Hooker, Network Rail route area director, said: “These upgrades are a vital step towards us being able to provide better, smoother and more reliable journeys for 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 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.”

Andrew Goodrum, Customer Service Director for Abellio Greater Anglia, said: "We would like to thank passengers for their patience while the work takes place. Although there is never a convenient time to carry out engineering work, it is vital to upgrade the track in order to improve punctuality and reliability along the line.  We would urge all passengers to check their journeys before they travel. Information will be available at our stations and on our website."

Further down the line, on Saturday August 29, Sunday August 30 and Monday August 31, an amended service will run between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield because of Crossrail upgrades at Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Harold Wood and Shenfield and overhead line upgrade at Brentwood. On Sunday August 30, buses will replace trains between Gidea Park and Shenfield and on Bank Holiday, Monday August 31, a Sunday service will operate.

Network Rail will also be installing new track in Stratford, meaning buses will replace trains between Stratford and Hackney Wick.

ENDS

Network Rail’s advertising about this August’s bank holiday engineering work features Luke, a Network Rail track supervisor. Just like thousands of others, he’ll be working for you this bank holiday helping to deliver Network Rail’s railway upgrade plan.  Some journeys may be affected, please check before you travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk/august

For more service information, passengers can also check www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk or www.tfl.gov.uk/tflrail