Vital rail upgrades are to be carried out at the end of July to extend platforms for new trains and provide power for the Elizabeth Line ahead of the next stage of opening when services from Shenfield will be connected to Paddington station via the City of London and the West End.
The works will take place on Sunday 24 July and will affect passengers travelling to London from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. Passengers are advised to check before they travel.
The work is vital to support the growing number of passengers returning to the railway and includes:
- A power upgrade at Pudding Mill Lane near Stratford that will provide power for the Elizabeth Line services.
- Work to lengthen platforms on the West Anglia main line to accommodate 10-car trains
The next phase of opening the Elizabeth line will integrate services from the east and west into the new central tunnels and stations bringing additional benefits to those travelling to and from the east and west. This connection brings the three railways together and enables services from Reading and Heathrow through to Abbey Wood and from Shenfield through to Paddington. The service in the central stations between Paddington and Whitechapel will be 22 trains per hour during the peak and 16 trains per hour off peak.
Buses will replace trains on the Great Eastern main line between Ingatestone and Liverpool St, and on the West Anglia main line, buses will replace trains between Bishops Stortford and Waltham Cross, and also between Hertford East and Waltham Cross.
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “This work is vital to upgrade the railway to support new, longer trains for West Anglia passengers and to support the next stage of the opening of the Elizabeth line which will revolutionise the way passengers travel across London. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out these works.”
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “We’re very sorry for the inconvenience these engineering works cause in the short term, but in the long term they play a part in improving rail connections and modernising our railway, making it better for everyone.
“We will make sure that customers can complete their journeys – even if part of it is by rail replacement bus.”
Photo credit: Network Rail
