Rail passengers in East Anglia should check before they travel this March as Network Rail undertake several engineering upgrade projects on the line to/from London Liverpool Street.
The engineering work will take place during the weekends of 7/8, 14/15, 21/22 and 28/29 March, and London Liverpool Street station (including the concourse) will be closed for five days in March (15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 March).
The essential weekend engineering work will deliver vital maintenance, renewals and repairs to keep very busy sections of the railway running efficiently and safely for all rail users.
Network Rail’s package of improvements will keep the infrastructure running reliably and safely for all rail users.
The work includes:
Track and rail renewal near Ilford station and Gidea Park,
Roof renewal including roof drainage improvements at London Liverpool Street station
Drainage works
Station and/or platform works at stations including Stratford, Rayleigh, Wickford and Hockley
Infrastructure work at Ilford depot
Overhead line work and overhead line redundant structure removals
Surveys and inspections of structures/canopies/retaining walls/culverts/tunnels and brickwork repairs
Vegetation management and litter clearance along the railway
Track maintenance and treatment
General drainage and infrastructure maintenance
Martin Beable, Greater Anglia’s Managing Director, said:
“These projects will help improve and maintain very busy parts of the network, which will help to maintain our high standards of punctuality and reliability.
“Passengers should check before they travel and allow more time for their journey. We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while Network Rail carry out this essential work.”
Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said:
“I’m sorry that our work will impact weekend passenger journeys in March.
“There is never a good time to close the railway, but our planned work will deliver an extensive amount of renewals, repairs, maintenance and necessary inspections on these busy, well used routes into London Liverpool Street.
“Much of the work needs to be done while trains are not running to keep our staff safe, and we are maximising the time we have to do as much as we can.”
Passengers are being encouraged to check before travelling by using the Greater Anglia website or app, and to leave extra time to complete journeys on the following dates:
Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March 2026
Great Eastern Main Line and Southend Victoria/Southminster line:
On Saturday 7 March, buses will replace trains between Southend Victoria and Shenfield. Trains will continue to operate between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street station.
On Sunday 8 March, buses will replace trains between Ingatestone/Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street via Shenfield. Trains will continue to operate between Norwich/Clacton/Colchester Town/Braintree and Shenfield connecting into the rail replacement at Ingatestone to/from Newbury Park as well as between Southminster and Wickford.
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March 2026
Great Eastern Main Line:
On both days, trains will not run between London and Shenfield with rail replacement buses operating to/from Ingatestone connecting to Newbury Park.
Trains will continue to operate between Norwich/Clacton/Colchester Town/Braintree and Shenfield connecting into the rail replacement at Ingatestone.
Trains will also operate between Southend Victoria and Shenfield as well as between Southminster and Wickford connecting into rail replacement services at Shenfield to Newbury Park
Liverpool Street station and West Anglia Main Line:
On Sunday 15 March only, Liverpool Street Main Line station (including the concourse) will be closed to all Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, c2c, Elizabeth line and London Overground services. Greater Anglia services to/from Cambridge, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford East and Stansted Airport will start/terminate at Stratford. All Greater Anglia services are scheduled to be formed of 10 coaches on this day, however passengers are advised that services are likely to be extremely busy due to the anticipated number of people travelling. Services between Cambridge and Stratford will call additionally at Enfield Lock and Waltham Cross. Passengers travelling to/from these stations are advised to travel in the middle of the train (coaches 4,5,6 or 7) due to shorter platforms at some stations. West Anglia passengers travelling to/from Stratford should note that the train will be longer than the platform at Stratford. The rear 3 coaches (towards Stratford) / front 3 coaches (away from Stratford) won’t be accommodated on the platforms at Stratford.
Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 March 2026
Great Eastern Main Line:
On both days, trains will not run between London and Ingatestone with a bus replacement service operating between Beaulieu Park/Billericay and Newbury Park
Trains will continue to operate between Norwich/Clacton/Colchester Town/Braintree and Chelmsford (via Beaulieu Park) connecting into rail replacement buses.
Trains will continue to operate between Southend Victoria and Billericay as well as between Southminster and Wickford connecting into rail replacement buses at Billericay.
Liverpool Street station and West Anglia Main Line
On both days, Liverpool Street Main Line station will be closed to all Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, c2c, Elizabeth line and London Overground services. Greater Anglia services to/from Cambridge, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford East and Stansted Airport will start/terminate at Stratford.
Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 March 2026
Great Eastern Main Line and Southend Victoria/Southminster line:
On both days, trains will not run between London and Shenfield/Southend Victoria/Southminster with buses operating between Ingatestone/Southend Victoria and Newbury Park as well as between Southminster and Wickford.
Trains will continue to operate between Norwich / Clacton / Colchester Town / Braintree and Shenfield via Ingatestone connecting into rail replacement buses.
Liverpool Street station and West Anglia Main Line
On both days, Liverpool Street Main Line station will be closed (including the concourse) to all Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, c2c, Elizabeth line and London Overground services. Greater Anglia services to/from Cambridge, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford East and Stansted Airport will start/terminate at Stratford.
