Network Rail is warning Christmas travellers of disruption across the Anglia region due to extensive engineering work.

Its workers will be carrying out major station construction, track and overhead line renewal, bridge demolitions and maintenance over the festive period.

Work will take place to create a new track realignment which will allow the construction of platforms at the new Cambridge South station, which will connect the Cambridge Biomedical Campus with potential destinations such as central London, London Stansted Airport, Ely, Birmingham and Europe. Other work at the station includes installing overhead line and signalling equipment and continuing to construct the new station building.

The team working on the Cambridge Resignalling Programme (C3R for short) – which is investing £194m to renew the signalling system for the Cambridge area – will install signal gantries and other signalling equipment between Cambridge and Ely.

Network Rail will also bring new track into use at Beaulieu Park station, which will allow trains to divert around the platform construction area while the new station building is built.

Workers will replace track points and adjust the overhead line equipment at Barking to improve reliability.

At Stratford, Network Rail will install one thousand metres of new overhead wire, which will complete the overhead wire renewals in this location. Renewal of track points at Stratford will also improve reliability.

Engineers will demolish the Kingsbury Road bridge, which has reached the end of its useful life. The bridge will be replaced next year.

Workers will renew around two hundred metres of rail baseplates in the tunnel at Ipswich.

Maintenance staff will also carry out general work across the network to take advantage of railway closures on 25 and 26 December and to maximise the time available to complete surveys, inspections and repairs.

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia said: “Our programme of engineering work this Christmas is critical for upgrading and maintaining the railway ahead of the new year. Our engineers, maintenance crews, contractors and surveyors will be out on track over the entire Christmas period delivering this important work.

“We have a significant Christmas programme this year, particularly around Cambridge and Chelmsford to continue building new stations planned to open in 2025. I’d like to reassure passengers that we’ll be getting a huge amount done while trains aren’t running and I want to say thank you to our lineside neighbours for bearing with us while we’re out working hard in their communities.”

Service alternations on the Great Eastern and West Anglia main lines and Essex Thameside railway.

Sunday 24 December (Christmas Eve)

• Greater Anglia services will close early, with fewer services from 19:00 and all services stopping by 22:00. The exception is the Stanstead Express service between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. The last train to Stansted will depart London Liverpool Street at 23:25. The last train from Stansted airport will depart at 23:45 arriving in London at 00:36 on Christmas Day.
• Fenchurch Street station will be closed, so there will be no c2c services running to Upminster or to Grays via Rainham. The last c2c trains will finish earlier than usual on Christmas Eve with all c2c services finished by 23:00.
• Great Northern services from London to Kings Lynn via Cambridge, and Thameslink services from Brighton and London to Cambridge, will be affected by engineering works between Potters Bar and Royston. Replacement buses will run until around 21:00.
• Network Rail is urging passengers to check last train times if travelling on Christmas Eve to avoid missing the last trains.

Monday 25 December (Christmas Day) and Tuesday 26 December (Boxing Day)

• No train services will operate on the network on Christmas Day.
• Boxing Day will see a half-hourly Stansted Express service run between Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport.
• The final Stansted Express services are:
  • Tottenham Hale- Stansted Airport: 23:15
  • Stansted Airport – Tottenham Hale: 23:59
• No trains or rail replacement bus services will run on any other routes.

c2c services between 27 December and 1 January 2024 (New Year’s Day)

• A reduced service will run. On 27 December, engineering work continues on the Essex Thameside railway between London terminals (Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street), and Upminster and Grays via Rainham. A rail replacement bus service will run between Grays, Purfleet, Rainham and Upminster.

Greater Anglia, Great Northern/Thameslink and Cross Country services between London and Ely – 27 December to 1 January 2024 (New Year’s Day)

• Major work at Cambridge South station and the Cambridge Re-signalling programme will take place from 27 December to 1 January 2024, affecting services between Ely, Cambridge, Royston and Stansted airport.
• Greater Anglia trains from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge will start/terminate at Audley End, connecting into rail replacement bus services to/from Cambridge North via Cambridge.
• Greater Anglia trains between Norwich and Stansted Airport will start/terminate at Cambridge North on 27 and 28 December, then starting/terminating at Cambridge from 29 December until 1 January.
• A rail replacement bus service will run between Ely and Stansted airport via Cambridge on 27 and 28 December, and between Cambridge and Stansted airport from 29 December to 1 January 2024.
• Great Northern and Thameslink trains between London and Royston will run to an amended timetable. On Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 December, rail replacement bus services will run between Royston, Cambridge and Cambridge North. On Friday 29 through to Monday 1 January, buses will replace trains between Royston and Cambridge. An additional direct bus service will operate between Royston and Cambridge North to connect with rail services to / from Kings Lynn.

Greater Anglia services between London and Norwich – 27 December to 1 January 2024 (New Year’s Day)

• Major engineering work at Beaulieu Park station (the first station constructed on the Greater Eastern Main line in over 100 years), and track maintenance work, will take place from 27 December to 1 January 2024 affecting all services on the mainline between Shenfield and Witham.
• Greater Anglia services from Norwich, Ipswich, Clacton, Colchester and Braintree will terminate at Witham, connecting into the following rail replacement bus routes:
  • Fast buses Witham to Billericay, for London-bound passengers; taking approximately 50 minutes
  • Stopper buses Witham to Billericay via Hatfield Peverel and Chelmsford; taking approximately 1 hour 5 minutes.
• Connecting train services will operate between Billericay and London Liverpool Street, serving Shenfield and Stratford.
• Passengers travelling to/from Ingatestone station may use a shuttle bus service between Chelmsford and Ingatestone, and between Ingatestone and Shenfield.

Rural lines and branch lines – 27 December to 1 January 2024 (New Year’s Day)

• Services on country, rural and branch lines ,including the Southend Victoria line, Ipswich to Cambridge, Norwich to Cambridge services and the Wherry lines between Norwich and Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth, are likely to run amended timetables and in some locations, a shuttle service, to accommodate planned engineering work across the network. Some services, may also be curtailed on certain days with connections to rail replacement bus services.

Network Rail is encouraging all passengers to check their journey plans before travelling with National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator, and is warning that buses may be busier than usual.

Information can be found here:

• Greater Anglia
• c2c
• Great Northern
• Thameslink
• Cross Country