Rail Engineering Works

Network Rail carry out their engineering work over bank holiday weekends. It can be a pain if you have to swap on to buses and add extra time on to your journey, but not all routes have engineering works and the rail operating companies do tell you in advance when their work is taking place.

Here you will find details of some of the routes being affected by engineering works, but this isn’t necessarily comprehensive so when you book your tickets make sure you look out for any warnings!

National Express East Anglia

Due to improvement work being carried out by Network Rail on the 14 and 15 March National Express East Anglia routes are affected as follows.

Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford, and branch lines to Liverpool Street – Saturday 14 March

• On Saturday 14 March, all mainline services will terminate /start at Colchester. A replacement coach service will operate between Colchester and Billericay (in both directions). Train services will operate between Billericay and Liverpool Street (in both directions). Customers should change at Billericay for the replacement coach service operating to/from Colchester.

Buses will also replace trains between:

• Witham and Braintree,
• Marks Tey and Sudbury.
• Thorpe-le-Soken to Clacton-on-Sea.

There will also be buses running from;

• Shenfield to Ingatestone direct,
• Ingatestone to Chelmsford direct,
• Billericay to Chelmsford direct.

Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Chelmsford, and branch lines to Liverpool Street – Sunday 15 March

• On Sunday 15 March, Intercity Norwich to Liverpool Street services will be replaced by coaches between Ipswich and Billericay, with a train running from Billericay to Liverpool Street. Mainline services will be replaced by coaches between Ipswich, Manningtree, Colchester and Billericay, with a train running from Billericay to Liverpool Street.

Buses will also replace trains between;

• Witham and Braintree,
• Marks Tey and Sudbury
• Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea and Walton-on-the-Naze.

There will also be buses running from;

• Shenfield to Ingatestone direct,
• Ingatestone to Chelmsford direct,
• Billericay to Chelmsford direct.

Liverpool Street / Ipswich to Lowestoft – Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 March

• On Saturday 14 March, Liverpool Street to Lowestoft services will only operate between Ipswich and Saxmundham. A replacement bus service will operate between Saxmundham and Lowestoft.
• On Sunday 15 March, Ipswich to Lowestoft services will only operate between Ipswich and Saxmundham. A replacement bus service will operate between Saxmundham and Lowestoft.

Liverpool Street to Peterborough – Saturday 14 March

• On Saturday 14 March, Liverpool Street to Peterborough services will only run between Ipswich and Peterborough. Customers are advised to change at Ipswich for London services.

Norwich to Cambridge – Sunday 15 March

• On Sunday 15 March, Norwich to Cambridge services will be replaced by buses between Norwich and Brandon.

Liverpool Street / Stratford to Hertford East, Stansted Airport and Cambridge – Sunday 15 March

• On Sunday 15 March, Stratford to Cambridge services will be diverted from/to Liverpool Street via Hackney Downs and will not call at Stratford all day.
• Also, from the beginning of service until 09.15, Liverpool Street to Cambridge services will be replaced by buses between Broxbourne and Audley End, with a train service running from Audley End to Cambridge.
• After 09.15 and before 13.00, Liverpool Street to Cambridge services will be replaced by buses between Broxbourne and Stansted Airport, with a train service running between Stansted Airport and Cambridge.
• Also, from the beginning of service until 13.00, Stansted Express services will be replaced by a direct coach service.

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