Greater Anglia and c2c services subject to disruption next week

Next week, because of engineering work in and around Liverpool Street, there will be severe disruption to Greater Anglia services in and out of the station.

From the end of service on Christmas Eve until the start of service on Tuesday, 3rd January, no trains will run into or out of Liverpool Street mainline station. During this period engineers will:

• commission a new power supply for the overhead lines between Bow and Shenfield;
• replace an old rail-over-road bridge near Bethnal Green;
• refurbish multiple sets of points on the approach tracks into Liverpool Street station;
• strengthen Bishopsgate tunnel that runs out of Liverpool Street.

Services affected are as follows:

Norwich mainline

• Rail-replacement buses will run from Ingatestone to Newbury Park TfL Central Line station.

Southend Victoria line (except on 27th December)

• Rail-replacement buses will run from Billericay.

Southend Victoria line (27th December only)

• Rail-replacement buses will run between Southend Victoria and Newbury Park TfL Central Line station.

National Rail tickets will be accepted on TfL Central Line services between Newbury Park and Stratford / Liverpool Street.

Cambridge to Liverpool Street

• Services will terminate at Tottenham Hale, where passengers can then transfer onto the TfL Victoria Line.

National Rail tickets will be accepted on TfL Victoria Line services between Tottenham Hale and King's Cross, and also on TfL Circle Line/ Hammersmith & City Line/ Metropolitan Line services between King's Cross and Liverpool Street.

Stansted Express

• The Stansted Express service will run between Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport from Boxing Day up to and including 2nd January.

National Rail tickets will be accepted on TfL Victoria Line services between Tottenham Hale and King's Cross, and also on TfL Circle Line/ Hammersmith & City Line/ Metropolitan Line services between King's Cross and Liverpool Street.

Full-size bikes or e-scooters will not be allowed on rail replacement buses.

There are no Greater Anglia services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day and there are no Stansted Express services on Christmas Day.

London Overground

• Services will not run into or out of Liverpool Street mainline station.

Elizabeth line

• There will be no service between London and Shenfield.

c2c

Work is taking place in the Grays area to replace stretches of overhead wire.

• Ockendon line – buses will replace trains on certain days;
• Rainham line – trains will not run on certain days. Rail replacement buses will run between Upminster and Pitsea via Grays.

Other work during the festive period that may affect services includes:

• maintenance work including work on the track, overhead lines and signalling equipment on the Southend Victoria and Southminster branch lines
• refurbishing points near Gospel Oak station;
• replacing ballast, sleepers, and track near Hampstead Heath station;
• improving the overhead lines inside a tunnel near Stoke Newington which is used by both London Overground and Greater Anglia trains, as well as doing vegetation management and drainage work further up the line;
• maintaining overhead lines and signalling equipment on London Overground between Camden Road and Stratford.

Anyone intending to travel during this period should check before travelling at greateranglia.co.uk or c2c-online.co.uk, or at tfl.gov.uk for the Elizabeth line and London Overground. Travel arrangements can also be checked on the National Rail journey planner at  https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail's route director for Anglia, said: “Work over Christmas is critical for upgrading and maintaining the railway ahead of the new year, with our teams out on track while so many of us are having fun and relaxing in our homes.

“We have a significant Christmas programme this year, particularly on the lines into Liverpool Street. I hope passengers can understand the need for the upgrades and I'd like to reassure them that we'll be getting a huge amount done while trains aren't running. I also want to say thank you to our lineside neighbours for bearing with us while we're out working hard in their communities.”

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We appreciate that this work is inconvenient for passengers, but it is vital for the long-term reliability of our busy network.

“We will make sure that our customers can all complete their journeys, even if part of it is by bus.”

Rob Mullen, c2c managing director, said: “As the railway tends to be much quieter over the Christmas and New Year period, it is a good opportunity for our colleagues at Network Rail to carry out essential upgrade work to our rail infrastructure.

“We are aware that weekend engineering has particularly affected customers on our Rainham and Ockendon lines over the last couple of months. However, overhead line issues are very disruptive so these works over the festive period will help improve the resilience of this vital equipment.

“We would ask our customers travelling over the festive period to check before they travel. A bus replacement service will also be operating on the Ockendon and Rainham parts of our route.”