27.10.16
Shenfield braced for New Year closures ahead of Crossrail arrival
Network Rail will carry out an extensive programme of upgrade work around Shenfield station between Christmas and New Year, including installing a new platform and sidings in preparation for the arrival of Crossrail.
The platform will serve new air-conditioned trains, which will start operating on the TfL Rail route between Shenfield and Liverpool Street station from May.
Crossrail works at Shenfield will also include remodelling the track at the station, meaning there will be no TfL Rail services between Brentwood and Shenfield during week days and weekends until late May. A replacement bus service will run between both stations in the meantime.
Other Crossrail works will take place at key stations between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street to provide better station facilities, step-free access and longer platforms.
Richard Schofield, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “Our Railway Upgrade Plan in Anglia is delivering one of the biggest and most crucial programmes of work in years, bringing benefits to passengers all the way up to Norwich.
“I understand though that to get a bigger and better railway, passengers have to experience the inconvenience and disruption that closing the railway causes. I’d like to thank passengers for their continued understanding and encourage them to check ahead of travelling to see how their journey might be affected.”
These and other major upgrades will take place for 10 days over the Christmas and New Year period, affecting the Greater Anglia and TfL Rail services into Liverpool Street and across to Cambridge. For example, Network Rail will continue work to replace overhead wires between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street with new wires which do not sag in hot weather, removing the need for speed restrictions.
Work at Ilford depot, meanwhile, will provide a safe place for keeping and maintaining the TfL Rail, and later Elizabeth line, trains.
Passengers are warned to expect cancellations of TfL Rail and Greater Anglia services over Christmas and on weekends between January and May 2017, with replacement bus services being provided.
Jamie Burles, managing director of Greater Anglia, said: “We need this work to be done at Shenfield in order to improve reliability and journey times on our Norwich to London route. We recognise that it is a major inconvenience to customers wanting to travel on this route at weekends when engineering is taking place, but ultimately it will make these journeys much better.”
Work on Crossrail, now called the Elizabeth Line, is on schedule and now 75% complete.
(Image c. Network Rail)
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