Passengers who may be affected by this summer’s Chingford line closure will have the chance to quiz railway managers about the work.

Network Rail will be replacing a bridge located south of Hackney Downs park, which supports the junction of Downs Park Road and Bodney Road.

The bridge backs onto a tunnel, which emerges further down the line towards Clapton. The bridge is one hundred and fifty years old and in very poor condition.

Representatives from Network Rail, and from operators London Overground and Greater Anglia, will attend the events to give information and answer questions.

The events will be held on:

• Tuesday 18 June, Hackney Downs station, 08:00-10:00
• Thursday 27 June, Liverpool Street station, 16:00-18:00
• Thursday 11 July, Chingford station, 08:00-10:00 (London Overground and Network Rail only)

The sixteen-day closure will run from Saturday 20 July until Sunday 4 August inclusive, with no London Overground trains operating between Hackney Downs and Chingford stations.

No trains will run to or from Clapton, St James Street, Walthamstow Central, Wood Street, Highams Park and Chingford stations.

Some Greater Anglia services will also be affected, with trains that usually run between Liverpool Street and Hertford East starting and finishing at Stratford instead.

The usual services between Stratford and Meridian Water will not run, but the operator is arranging for other services to make additional stops at Meridian Water and Northumberland Park.

Services from Liverpool Street to Cambridge / Stansted Airport will divert via (and call at) Seven Sisters instead of Tottenham Hale. Trains will not run between Bishop’s Stortford and Stratford services.

Network Rail workers will also carry out maintenance at sites along the route, working on overhead lines, points and drainage systems, and improving the condition of ballast under the tracks.

Alternatives available

Alternative travel routes include:

• rail replacement buses running between Hackney Downs and Chingford every tweny minutes, calling at all stations
• London Underground‘s Victoria line operating between Walthamstow Central and central London as usual
• local buses running across the are, with routes 97, 212, 230 and 275 likely to be the most useful
• London Overground services to Enfield Town and Cheshunt serving Bethnal Green and Hackney Downs stations.

London Overground will run an amended timetable on its Enfield Town and Cheshunt lines during the sixteen-day period. Passengers will have the opportunity to quiz managers about this at an event at Enfield Town station on Wednesday 17 July, 16:00-18:00.

Before and after

Preparatory and follow-up work will also affect train services on these dates:

• Sunday 23 June
• Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July
• Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August
• Sunday 1 September
• Sunday 8 September