Media centre

Friday 24 Jan 2020

UPDATE: Gospel Oak to Barking line freight derailment

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Work to repair damaged caused by a derailed freight wagon on the Gospel Oak to Barking line has begun.

Engineers are starting to remove the damaged track and equipment but owing to the extent of the damage, a full schedule of repairs is still being finalised. An update will be provided early next week, once contractors and key supplies are confirmed.

Just after 6am on Thursday 23 January, a freight wagon derailed between Leyton Midland Road and Walthamstow Queens Road on the Gospel Oak to Barking line which has caused extensive damage over a two and a half mile stretch with a number of sleepers completely split in half. Eight bridges were also damaged along with signalling and other essential equipment that is used for running trains.

An investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia said: “I’d like to say sorry to all our passengers whose journeys are disrupted by this incident. Our engineers will be working around the clock to get the line open as quickly as possible. I also want to thank our lineside neighbours for their patience while we carry out this important work and we will aim to keep disruption to a minimum.”

 

Travel Advice for Passengers

There is currently no London Overground service between Barking and South Tottenham. Passengers wishing to travel between Walthamstow Central and Barking are advised to continue to check the TfL Journey Planner before travelling. A rail replacement bus service has been provided between Walthamstow Central and Barking calling at Leyton Midland Road, Leytonstone High Road (Harrow Green), Wanstead Park and Woodgrange Park to allow passengers to complete their journey while repairs are underway.

Passengers can check before travelling by visiting tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey and https://www.nationalrail.co.uk for service updates.