Monday 14 May 2018
Reliability boost for rail passengers travelling between Norwich and London this bank holiday
- Region & Route:
- Eastern: Anglia
- | Eastern
Passengers travelling on the line between Norwich and London are set to get a more punctual train service following essential railway upgrades at Ilford over the bank holiday weekend.
Between Saturday 26 to Monday 28 May, Network Rail’s Team Orange will install 3km of overhead wire between Ilford and Maryland as part of a £250m programme to upgrade the overhead wiring system between Chelmsford and London Liverpool Street. This will improve reliability and support the growing number of passengers using the Great Eastern Main Line.
The wiring system currently in place is one of the oldest in the country and work to replace the stretch between Chelmsford and Ilford has already been completed.
The new system adapts automatically to heat during the summer, meaning fewer delays and cancellations. This new wiring system will also allow Greater Anglia to run their fleet of new trains with Wi-Fi, plug sockets and extra seats, from 2019 and to allow more trains to run in future to meet growing passenger demand.
Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “This is part of our ongoing programme to provide customers with a more reliable railway as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan. The work will result in fewer delays and cancellations and will support the growing number of passengers using the Great Eastern Main Line. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this upgrade.”
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director said: “We want to run a train service that’s reliable as possible and this work will help us to do that. I know it’s inconvenient for customers who want to stay on the train all the way to their destination, but we will be running a rail replacement bus service so that they can complete their journeys, even though there is engineering works.”
Passengers are advised to check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Saturday 26 – Monday 28 May
Ingatestone / Billericay – London Liverpool Street
A rail replacement service will run between Ingatestone / Billericay and Newbury Park for the Central line.
Saturday 26 – Monday 28 May
Ipswich – Felixstowe
A rail replacement service will run between Ipswich and Felixstowe from 1850 on Saturday 26 May to Monday 28 May inclusive.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - Katie Mack
Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
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.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk