Media centre

Monday 22 Jul 2019

Passengers across Anglia reminded to check their bank holiday travel plans before they travel

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Many passengers will be able to travel by rail over the busy August bank holiday (Saturday 24 to Monday 26 August) as most of the network is open, however, some lines will be closed for essential engineering works.

Passengers looking to travel between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster and Fenchurch Street station and Shoeburyness are advised to plan their journeys as engineering work will be taking place on those lines and rail services will be affected.

For those that wish to travel to the Notting Hill carnival, buses will replace London Overground trains between Willesden Junction and Camden Road owing to track renewals.

The following engineering work will be happening across the Anglia network which runs across Norfolk and Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and north and east London:

• Upgrading the overhead wiring system and renewing the track and structures on the Southend Victoria line as part of a £46m investment. Buses will replace train services between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster from Saturday 24 to Monday 26 August inclusive

• Track renewals between Camden Road and Willesden Junction on London Overground between Sunday 25 and Monday 26 August, with buses replacing trains

• No service will operate between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction until 11:15am on Sunday 25 August due to track renewals. Customers are advised to use local buses or London Overground services.
• Overhead line work and track renewals as part of the Barking Riverside project affecting services on the c2c line between Grays and Barking via Rainham that starts on Saturday 24 August and finishes on Monday 26 August. Replacement buses will run between Upminster and Grays via Rainham and between Rainham and Dagenham Dock.
• Track renewals between Pitsea and Dagenham on the c2c line that start on Sunday 25^th August, with buses replacing trains.

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “There is never a convenient time to close parts of the railway.

“We are aware that bank holiday engineering work affects many people who will have wanted to make the most of the long weekend, and the only reason we do the work then is because it affects far fewer people than a closure on a working day.

“Most of the railway network will be open as usual, only some routes will be closed, so if you are thinking about travelling please plan ahead.”

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “The majority of our network is free of major engineering works which is great news for travellers – especially with so many events on including Ed Sheeran in Ipswich.

“However, I would like to apologise to customers on our Southend Victoria line who are affected by engineering works in the final months of the major project to replace all of the overhead lines and structures between Southend and Shenfield.

“We know they would rather travel all the way by train, but we will make sure they are able to complete their journeys, even it part of it is by  rail replacement bus.”

There is also major upgrade of the East Coast mainline, with no Great Northern or Thameslink trains running between London King’s Cross and Cambridge/Peterborough. As a result, Greater Anglia services between Cambridge and London Liverpool Street are likely to be busier than usual.