From next Monday, 11th August, some late evening train services between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster will be affected due to urgent engineering work.

The work is necessary because the clay soil underneath the lines has shrunk following the prolonged spell of dry weather in the driest spring and early summer in more than 50 years.

In addition to the engineering work, speed restrictions are being implemented to ensure trains continue to run safely.

During the week beginning Monday, 11th August, rail-replacement buses will operate between Shenfield and Southend Victoria/Southminster.

The following week, the stopping patterns of trains between Shenfield and Southend Victoria line will be changed.

Network Rail will aim to minimise the effects on services, but there will be slight reductions in services to Prittlewell, Romford, and Southend Airport.

On the days affected, services will be disrupted from 21.50 onwards, with some services departing from Southend Victoria, Prittlewell, Southend Airport, Rochford, Hockley, and Rayleigh up to 2 minutes earlier than usual.

Final details of timetable changes will be published on the Greater Anglia website as soon as they are available.

During the work, engineers will use tampers to lift the track and repack the ballast underneath the track. Since 2023, Network Rail has dropped around 25,000 tonnes of ballast across the route to try to minimise the effects of clay shrinkage, but this year’s exceptionally dry spring made it impossible to eliminate track issues.

The combination of engineering work, speed restrictions and service alterations means that timetable alterations will be in place for between two and three months.

Services were also disrupted last January on the Southend Victoria line because of engineering work. In 2023, Southminster was one of the finalists in a competition to find Britain’s best-loved station.

“We’re really sorry for the disruption to passengers from both the late-night works and ongoing changes to the timetable but we need the extra time to get the track in a better condition. Our teams are working hard to keep running the best possible service for passengers, even with the significant challenges we face with clay soil following prolonged dry spells. Thank you to everyone for bearing with us.:

Simon Milburn, infrastructure director for Network Rail Anglia