Passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex thanked as eight weekends of major railway upgrades finish: Crossrail - Shenfield boom installation

Tuesday 8 Nov 2016

Passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex thanked as eight weekends of major railway upgrades finish

Region & Route:
| Eastern: Anglia
| Eastern
| Southern

The equivalent of 45,000 hours of railway upgrade work that has taken place between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street over eight weekends since September has come to an end, delivering significant benefits for passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

Network Rail’s orange army spent the equivalent of 20,000 hours installing over 14km of overhead wire that will not sag in the summer heat and improve the reliability of the railway all year round, meaning fewer delays for passengers. An additional 25,000 hours was spent carrying out Crossrail construction work at Shenfield to prepare 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.

During the eight weekends, Network Rail’s orange army also completed:

  • Work to start remodelling an important junction at Shenfield, which will be completed next year and will enable passenger and freight trains to travel through the area more freely, reducing the risk of delays caused by congestion.
  • Improvements at stations on the TfL Rail route between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street, including at Manor Park where the existing footbridge was demolished and work to install a temporary footbridge was completed.
  • Signalling work at the new station at Cambridge North, which is due to open in May next year and provide an important link to the north of the city, easing congestion on the road network and supporting the local business economy.
  • Transport for London (TfL) also used the closure to continue work to replace a road bridge over the railway at Ardleigh Green near Gidea Park. This was timed to coincide with the existing rail closure to minimise disruption to passengers.

Richard Schofield, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “Our engineers have been working hard to build a bigger and better railway for the region and significantly improve passengers’ journeys on this busy line as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan. The work is vital in helping deliver new trains as part of the Crossrail project and removing a speed restriction that will no longer delay passengers in the summer.

“I understand the inconvenience and disruption that closing the railway causes, and I’d like to thank passengers for their understanding over this period while we carried out this important work. Railway upgrades of this scale take time and more work will take place over Christmas, when typically less than half the usual number of passengers use the railway, and in 2017. I’d encourage passengers to check ahead of travelling to see how their journey might be affected.”

Jamie Burles, managing director for Greater Anglia, said: “We are grateful to customers for their patience and understanding while these important works were carried out. The improvements will help to deliver a better and more reliable service.”

Howard Smith, operations director for TfL Rail, said: “I would like to thank TfL Rail passengers for their patience while work has taken place this autumn. There is still more to be done to prepare for Elizabeth line services and passengers should make sure they check journeys before travelling over Christmas and New Year.”

Work to remodel the track and provide an extra platform at Shenfield will continue over the Christmas period and in 2017, affecting Greater Anglia and TfL services at weekends and there will be no TfL Rail services between Shenfield and Brentwood every day from January until late May.

ENDS

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Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@networkrail.co.uk

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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