From later this month until early May, Weekend services on the Greater Anglia main line and branches to Sudbury and Braintree will be severely disrupted.

Near Chelmsford and Marks Tey stations, engineers will renew old and worn-out points, and replace traditional wooden sleepers with modern concrete ones that are more durable. In addition, more than 280 metres of track at both sites will be renewed with new rails, ballast, and sleepers.

Near to the new Beaulieu Park station, engineers will remove redundant points that are no longer needed because of changes to the track layout during construction of the new station. The old points will be replaced by new continuous track to reduce the need for future maintenance.

Between Marks Tey and Colchester stations, engineers will carry out stabilisation work on an embankment using soil nails.

The planned work will affect Greater Anglia train services on Sunday 30 March, Saturdays 5/6 and 12/13 April, Easter Sunday, 20 April and Easter Monday, 21 April, Sundays 4 and 11 May.

Service alterations

• Rail-replacement bus services will run between Colchester and Billericay, Sudbury and Marks Tey, and between Braintree and Witham.
• Trains will continue to operate between Norwich / Ipswich / Clacton-on-Sea and Colchester.
• Trains will continue to operate between Southend Victoria/Billericay and London Liverpool Street.

Anyone intending to travel on these weekends should check beforehand at greateranglia.co.uk

This is a very busy part of the Greater Anglia network, and it is vital that this work is carried out to maintain high punctuality and reliability standards, while also making the railway fit for the future.

Greater Anglia expresses its thanks to passengers in advance for their understanding while the work is carried out.

To improve the environment at Greater Anglia’s stations, last year many of them had areas set aside for gardens and wildlife.

“We’re sorry for the disruption, but we really need to get out on track and get these jobs done. All this work is crucial and will help us to deliver the most reliable possible service to passengers along our key London-Norwich route and its branch lines.”

Simon Milburn, infrastructure director for Network Rail Anglia