Media centre

Tuesday 7 Apr 2015

Passengers thanked after Easter rail upgrade completed

Region & Route:

| Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Network Rail and Abellio Greater Anglia today thanked passengers for their patience as vital upgrades were completed over Easter on the line between London and Norwich.

Overhead lines were upgraded at Chadwell Heath, Romford and Ilford to improve reliability and prepare the line for Crossrail. Engineers also upgraded the track layout at Brentwood to prepare the line for Crossrail.

Steve Cassidy, Network Rail area director, said: “We would like to thank passengers for their patience during this disruptive work. We try our best to minimise the impact on passengers and do most of the work behind the scenes, but there are big pieces of work that can only be completed when the railway is clear of trains.

“We used the time to successfully upgrade the overhead lines on this busy main line, which will help to provide passengers who travel on this route every year  more reliable journeys.”

Andrew Goodrum, Customer Service Director, Abellio Greater Anglia said: "We're very grateful for the cooperation and patience of our customers over the Easter period while Network Rail carried out works to upgrade the railway. These improvements will help in providing a more reliable service on the Great Eastern Main Line."

Over the Easter Bank Holiday, Network Rail also completed bridge survey works at a number of structures between Ely and Peterborough and on the line from Ipswich to Felixstowe and Ipswich to Saxmundam in preparation for strengthening work.

Network Rail is investing £170m on the Great Eastern Main Line, which runs from London Liverpool Street to Norwich, in 2015. Further work will be carried out during the May Bank Holidays. For more information please visit www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk on how these upgrades could affect your journey.