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Tuesday 5 Aug 2025

Late evening engineering work and temporary alterations to affect some Essex railway services

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Urgent late evening engineering work and temporary alterations will affect some services between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster from Monday 11 August onwards.

Engineering teams will be working to improve the condition of the track, which is being affected by the driest spring and early summer in more than 50 years. The clay soil underneath the lines between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster has shrunk following the prolonged spell of dry weather, causing the track to become uneven.

Additional late evening engineering work is needed and speed restrictions are being put in place, to keep trains running safely.

The extra engineering work begins on Monday 11 August, with buses replacing Greater Anglia trains for some late evening journeys on Mondays to Thursdays between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster. Then, from a week later, some temporary changes to stopping patterns will affect Southend Victoria line services.

The aim of the work being carried out by Network Rail is to try to limit the effects on services as far as possible, with late night engineering work on Mondays to Thursdays until further notice and only three stations (Prittlewell, Romford, and Southend Airport) affected by slight reductions in service frequency.

Network Rail is also working with c2c and the Elizabeth line to manage any impact on their services. Details of any impacts to passenger journeys will be shared as soon as possible.

Engineers will use machines called tampers to lift the track, repack the ballast or large stones underneath, and create a solid foundation so that trains can run smoothly. In the last two years, Network Rail has dropped around 25,000 tonnes of ballast across the route to try to minimise the effects of clay shrinkage, but an exceptionally dry spring this year has meant that it hasn’t been possible to eliminate track issues.

The combination of additional engineering work, precautionary speed restrictions and limited service alterations is designed to prevent more disruptive alterations to timetables and calling patterns, which would affect many more passengers and services. They are expected to be in place for between two and three months.

Simon Milburn, infrastructure director for Network Rail Anglia, said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption to passengers from both the late-night works and ongoing changes to the timetable but we need the extra time to get the track in a better condition. Our teams are working hard to keep running the best possible service for passengers, even with the significant challenges we face with clay soil following prolonged dry spells. Thank you to everyone for bearing with us.”

Martin Beable, managing director for Greater Anglia, said: “We apologise for the inconvenience these temporary changes to some Southminster and Southend Victoria line services will cause. We are working together closely to minimise the adverse impacts of these necessary works and everything possible is being done to ensure these short term alterations can be withdrawn as soon as possible.”

The headline changes for Greater Anglia services are as follows:

From Monday 11 August onwards until further notice

Late evening engineering work from 21.50 onwards affecting some services on Mondays to Thursdays between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster with bus replacement services in place.

From Monday 18 August onwards until further notice

Slight reduction in services calling at Prittlewell, Romford, and Southend Airport.

Some services to depart Southend Victoria, Prittlewell, Southend Airport, Rochford, Hockley, and Rayleigh up to 2 minutes earlier than usual.

Final timetable alterations are being worked through, with details available and updated as they are confirmed on the Greater Anglia website

Greater Anglia and Network Rail are sorry for the inconvenience these changes will cause and will continue to seek to minimise the alterations caused by the impact of dry spring and early summer weather, as well as look to end the additional late evening engineering work and restore the normal service patterns for the affected stations as soon as possible.

Further details of any changes to c2c and Elizabeth line services will be shared once finalised.