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Monday 18 Jan 2016

Passengers reminded to check before they travel as railway upgrades between London and Norwich continue

A major investment programme to improve journeys for passengers on the railway between London and Norwich steps up a gear in February as Network Rail’s ‘orange army’ starts 10 weekends of upgrade work.

The work between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone in Essex is a key part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan and includes work to modernise the overhead lines which power the trains, as well as upgrades to the line in preparation for Crossrail – which will transform rail services between London and Shenfield with new trains and more frequent services from 2017. The work includes:

• Overhead line renewals at Brentwood
• Track renewals at Maryland, Forest Gate and Shenfield
• Installation of new sidings for Crossrail trains at Gidea Park
• Improvements to footbridges and platforms at Forest Gate and Ilford stations

Work of this nature can only be carried out when the railway is closed to trains – meaning passengers are advised to check before travelling at weekends starting on 6-7 February as their journeys may be affected.

Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said: “Following our successful delivery of works over Christmas, our job to continue to improve the railway doesn’t stop. We have a crucial programme of weekend works early in 2016 which will mean better, more reliable journeys for people travelling between London, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. Of course, there is never a good time to close the railway, and so I’d like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding while we carry out these works.” 

A spokesperson for Abellio Greater Anglia said: "We will be working with Network Rail and doing all we can to provide passengers with the best possible alternative service during the weekends when improvement works on the mainline route are taking place. Passengers travelling during this time are advised to check their journey details in advance.

"Extra staff will be available to assist customers when transferring to and from the rail replacement services. We apologise for any inconvenience that may be caused by these service alterations and we're grateful for the cooperation and patience of our customers for the duration of these works."

During the first eight weekends, no train services will operate between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone or Wickford. An Abellio Greater Anglia bus replacement service will be operating between Ingatestone/Wickford calling at Newbury Park for the Central line. TfL Rail will also be operating a bus replacement service between Stratford and Shenfield, additionally calling at Newbury Park.

During the final two weekends, Abellio Greater Anglia rail replacement services will instead operate from both Chelmsford and Witham to Billericay where passengers can change for train services to and from London. TfL Rail replacement services will operate between Gidea Park and Shenfield on the first of the two weekends, and all TfL Rail services will re-open for the final weekend. Passengers are advised to check before they travel at nationalrail.co.uk

NOTES:

Over Christmas, Network Rail successfully completed the re-wiring of the Romford Junction area, upgrading 6km of the London to Norwich route with new auto-tensioned overhead line equipment. As a result, train performance will be less liable to temperature-related speed restrictions in this area – an issue which has for many years caused problems for passengers as overhead lines sag during hot weather. The works over these weeks will deliver similar benefits for the Brentwood area. 

As part of the Crossrail enhancements, Network Rail will be upgrading existing sidings at Gidea Park which will allow the new Crossrail trains to park and return back into London. This work will require over 8,000 tonnes of new ballast, 2km of new rail and 27 steel piles for overhead line gantries and signals.  

For people in east London and Essex, Crossrail means quicker and easier journeys, better stations and new trains. For the first time, people will be able to travel right through central London without having to change trains at Liverpool Street or Stratford. 

Travel advice:

During the first eight weekends, no rail services will be in operation between London Liverpool Street and Ingatestone or Wickford. Bus replacement services will be in operation from Ingatestone and Wickford to Newbury Park for the Central line. Rail replacement services will also be in operation at all stops between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street, with the exception of Maryland, and additionally calling at Newbury Park for the Central line.

On the weekend of Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April, services will terminate at Chelmsford, where a short rail replacement service will transport passengers to Billericay for trains into London. TfL Rail will run a normal service between London Liverpool Street and Gidea Park, and between Gidea Park and Shenfield a rail replacement service will be in operation.

On the weekend of Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 April, services will terminate at Chelmsford, where a short rail replacement service will transport passengers to Billericay for trains into London. TfL Rail services between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield will be in operation.

Passengers can check before they travel via:

• • www.nationalrail.co.uk
  • www.abelliogreatranglia.co.uk
  • www.tfl.gov.uk

Alternative timetables for weekends 6/7 February to 5/6 March inclusive are now available at www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk Information regarding following weekends will be published shortly.