Media centre

Wednesday 26 Oct 2016

Further rail upgrades planned for 2017 to deliver a bigger and more reliable railway for passengers in London, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

| Southern

Passengers travelling on the railway between Norwich and London and across to Cambridge are being asked to check before they travel, particularly at weekends as complex improvement works continue over Christmas and into 2017. This work will deliver vital railway upgrades for the Crossrail programme and remove long-standing heat related speed restrictions.

As part of its Railway Upgrade Plan, Network Rail will continue to install new overhead wires that will make the railway more reliable. During 2016, more than 31,000 metres of overhead wire has been installed and a speed restriction between Shenfield and Chelmsford has already been removed.  Work continues a-pace on the Crossrail project to provide an extra platform at Shenfield and sidings in preparation for the arrival of new air-conditioned trains that will start operating on the TfL Rail route between Shenfield and Liverpool Street station, from May 2017.

These and other important upgrades will continue for 10 days over the Christmas and New Year period, and will affect Greater Anglia and TfL Rail services into Liverpool Street and across to Cambridge. Further work to improve the line will take place over a number of weekends from January to May 2017, meaning some journeys will be longer and involve rail replacement buses from Essex into London.

Major Crossrail works being delivered by Network Rail to remodel the track and provide an extra platform at Shenfield for future Elizabeth line services will take place from Tuesday 3 January 2017 until late May. This means there will be no TfL Rail services between Brentwood and Shenfield during week days and weekends until late May 2017. During this time, a frequent rail replacement bus service will run between the two stations.

Richard Schofield, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “Our Railway Upgrade Plan in Anglia is delivering one of the biggest and most crucial programmes of work in years, bringing benefits to passengers all the way up to Norwich.

“I understand though that to get a bigger and better railway, passengers have to experience the inconvenience and disruption that closing the railway causes. I’d like to thank passengers for their continued understanding and encourage them to check ahead of travelling to see how their journey might be affected.”

Jamie Burles, Managing Director of Greater Anglia, said: “We need this work to be done at Shenfield in order to improve reliability and journey times on our Norwich to London route. We recognise that it is a major inconvenience to customers wanting to travel on this route at weekends when engineering is taking place, but ultimately it will make these journeys much better.”

Howard Smith, Operations Director for TfL Rail, said: “We are working with Network Rail to carry out vital works to ensure we are ready to run the Elizabeth line as well as improving the line for other train services. This will mean we can’t run a TfL Rail service between Brentwood and Shenfield. I’d like to thank customers for their patience while this work takes place. It is important that they always check for updates before they travel and follow alternative travel advice.”

A vast amount of work like this cannot take place while the railway is open and Network Rail has worked with train operators Greater Anglia and TfL Rail, to plan the closures at times when the least amount of people use the railway and minimise the impact on passengers as much as possible. 

The programme of work includes:

• Works to provide an extra platform at Shenfield and sidings in preparation for the arrival of new air-conditioned trains that will start operating on the TfL Rail route between Shenfield and Liverpool Street station, from May 2017. Crossrail construction work will also continue at key stations between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street providing better station facilities step free access and longer platforms in preparation for longer Elizabeth line trains that will arrive from 2019.

• The complete remodelling of an important junction at Shenfield to help deliver more reliable journeys for passengers travelling from London to Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich by May 2017. These improvements will enable passenger and freight trains to travel through the area more freely, reducing the risk of delays to other services.

• Work continues at Ilford depot to provide a space for keeping and maintaining new trains that will operate on the TfL Rail route from May 2017 and later the Elizabeth line.

• Work to replace overhead wires between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street. This £250m project will improve reliability and significantly reduce the impact of heat-related disruption during the summer when overhead wires sag and speed restrictions are imposed.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Passengers are advised to check on National Rail Enquiries www.nationalrail.co.uk or with the train operator. Below is a guide to some of the major changes to services from Christmas to May 2017. The Brentwood to Shenfield closure will continue until late May.

 

Date	TfL Rail	Greater Anglia - Norwich to London	London to King’s Lynn line	Norwich/Bury St. Edmunds  to Ely/Cambridge lines
Saturday 24 December	No service between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield*	No service between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone/Billericay**	Normal rail services	Normal rail services
Sunday 25 December (Christmas Day)	No services	No services	No Services	No Services
Monday 26 December (Boxing day)	No services	No services	No Services	No Services
Tuesday 27 December	No services ***	No service between  Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street**	Normal rail services *****	Normal rail services
Wednesday 28 December to Friday 30 December	No service between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield*	No service between  Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street**	Normal rail services *****	Normal rail services
Saturday 31 December	No service between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield*	No service between  Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street**	No services between Cambridge and Ely	Normal rail services
Sunday 1 January 2017	No service between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield*	No service between  Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street**	No services between Cambridge and Ely. And no services  between Bishops Stortford and Cheshunt	Normal rail services
Monday 2 January 2017	No service between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield*	No service between  Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street**	Normal rail services	Normal rail services

* Rail replacement bus services call at all affected stations between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield

** Rail replacement bus service will run between Ingatestone and Newbury Park (for the Central line). A rail replacement bus service will also operate between Ingatestone and Shenfield and between Billericay and Newbury Park (for the Central line).

*** A rail replacement bus service will run every 15 minutes from Chadwell Heath to Shenfield, calling at all stops, as well as Newbury Park for the Central line. Buses will also run every 15 minutes from Romford to Stratford calling at all stops except Maryland.

***** Late-night services (after 00:00) between Bishops Stortford and Cambridge will be replaced with a rail replacement bus service.

 

Date	TfL Rail	Greater Anglia
Saturday 7 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	Normal rail service
Sunday 8 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	No service between Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street***
Saturday 14 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	Normal rail service
Sunday 15 January	No service between Chadwell Heath and Shenfield**	No service between Ingatestone/Wickford and London Liverpool Street***
Saturday 21 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	Normal rail service
Sunday 22 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	No service between Ingatestone/Wickford and London Liverpool Street***
Saturday 28 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	Normal rail service
Sunday 29 January	No service between Brentwood and Shenfield**	No service between Ingatestone/Wickford and London Liverpool Street***
Saturday 4 February	No service between Stratford and Shenfield*	No service between Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street***
Sunday 5 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone/Billericay***
Saturday 11 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Ingatestone/Billericay and London Liverpool Street***
Sunday 12 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Billericay and London Liverpool Street***
Saturday 18 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Wickford and London Liverpool Street***
Sunday 19 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield	No service between Witham/Wickford and London Liverpool Street***
Saturday 25 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Sunday 26 February	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Saturday 4 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Ingatestone/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool St****
Sunday 5 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool St****
Saturday 11 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Ingatestone/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Sunday 12 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Saturday 18 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Ingatestone/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Sunday 19 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Saturday  25 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****
Sunday 26 March	No service between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield*	No service between Witham/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street****

The Brentwood to Shenfield closure will continue until late May. Further details of weekend closures beyond March are yet to be finalised.

Rail replacement bus services:

* A rail replacement bus service will run every 15 minutes from Chadwell Heath to Shenfield, calling at all stops, as well as Newbury Park for the Central line. Buses will also run every 15 minutes from Romford to Stratford calling at all stops except Maryland.

** Rail replacement bus services call at all affected stations

*** Rail replacement bus service will run between Witham/Ingatestone and Newbury Park (for the Central line). A rail replacement bus service will also operate between Ingatestone and Shenfield and between Billericay/Wickford and Newbury Park (for the Central line).

****Rail replacement bus service will run between Witham/Ingatestone and Newbury Park (for the Central line).