Media centre

Monday 18 Apr 2016

May Day rail investment programme promises less disruption for passengers in Anglia

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

| Southern

Work to improve the reliability of journeys to and from London this May Bank Holiday will be less disruptive, while still delivering significant benefits for passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex on this important route to and from the capital.

The route into London will be open on Saturday, as work will only affect services on Sunday (1 May) and Monday (2 May) between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield.

Across Britain, more than 11,000 members of Network Rail’s orange army will be working over the long weekend (30 April-2 May) to deliver vital elements of the company’s £40bn Railway Upgrade Plan which will provide a bigger, better, and more reliable railway for passengers and businesses.

Work will take place to install structures at Seven Kings to carry new overhead lines that will improve the reliability on the line between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield. This work is part of a larger project to replace the existing overhead lines with a new wiring system which will not sag in the heat of summer and will improve general reliability for passengers travelling on the railway all year round.  

Crossrail construction work will also take place at Gidea Park to prepare the line between London and Shenfield for the new, longer trains which will vastly increase capacity when Elizabeth line services commence in December 2018.

Anglia’s route managing director, Richard Schofield, said: “With passenger numbers continuing to grow and the demands being placed on our railway getting ever greater, it’s vital that we get big chunks of time to get onto our railway to carry our heavy maintenance work and complete big investment schemes. This will keep the network ticking over and make it safer and more reliable for the millions who rely on it every day.”

“Over the bank holiday weekend we will continue our Railway Upgrade Plan to make the millions of passenger journeys from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex in and out of London bigger, better and more reliable. We know this means some disruption but there are many trains running across the region this weekend, so please do check before you travel to help plan your journey.”

This type of work can only be carried out when the railway is closed, so there will be a bus replacement service in place on Sunday (1 May) and Monday (2 May). The work will not affect services on Saturday 30 April. Passengers are advised to check before they travel.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Crossrail construction and overhead line work on the Great Eastern main line around Gidea Park will mean Abellio Greater Anglia (AGA) services from London Liverpool Street towards Shenfield will be replaced by buses from Newbury Park to Chelmsford and Wickford on Sunday 1 May and Monday 2 TfL Rail will run a train every 15 minutes to Ilford, and replacement buses will operate between Ilford and Shenfield.

• During the late Bank Holiday, Crossrail construction work and overhead line work on the Great Eastern main line mean no train services will run from London Liverpool Street to Shenfield. AGA trains will instead be replaced by buses from Newbury Park running to Ingatestone and Southend Victoria on Sunday 29 May and Monday 30 May. For TfL Rail passengers wishing to travel from Liverpool Street to Shenfield, rail replacement buses will be in operation via Newbury Park, for the Central line.

• The Railway Upgrade Plan is Network Rail’s £40bn spending plan for Britain’s railways for the five year period up to 31 March 2019. The plan is designed to provide more capacity, relieve crowding and respond to tremendous growth the railways have seen – a doubling of passengers in the past twenty years. The plan will deliver a bigger, better railway with more trains, longer trains, faster trains with more infrastructure, more reliable infrastructure and better facilities for passengers, especially at stations

• Although the vast majority of the network will be unaffected by planned improvement work, passengers are advised to check their journeys if travelling over the bank holiday at www.nationalrail.co.uk

The biggest parts of the May Day rail investment programme are:

• London Liverpool Street – Crossrail construction and overhead line work on the Great Eastern main line around Gidea Park will alteration to Abellio Greater Anglia services on Sunday and Monday
• On Sunday, Southern services out of Victoria will see substantial changes, including express services to Gatwick running from London Bridge rather than Victoria
• London Paddington will see reduced services over the weekend as Crossrail construction and  electrification work continues 
• East Kent resignalling sees rail replacement services for Southeastern between Faversham and Sheerness on Sunday
• Work on the West Coast main line near Stafford and north of Lancaster will see changes and alterations to long distance Virgin, CrossCountry and London Midland services for most of the weekend
• Major resignalling work on the northern part of the Midland main line around Sheffield will mean substantial service alterations on Sunday and Monday

London airports:

• Stansted – normal service
• Heathrow  Express– normal service on Sunday with a half normal service on Saturday and Monday
• Heathrow Connect – half the normal service Saturday to Monday
• Gatwick Express – fast, direct services will operate from London Bridge rather than Victoria