Greater Anglia is reminding rail passengers to check before they travel if they are making journeys by rail this Christmas – so they’re not caught out by earlier last trains, engineering works or strikes. The general arrangements for Greater Anglia train services are as follows :
In the run up to Christmas, a normal timetable will operate from 19th to 23rd December inclusive.
However, RMT members working for Network Rail are due to strike from 18.00 on Christmas Eve to 05.59 on Tuesday 27th December which will impact Greater Anglia services.
This mean that on Christmas Eve, last trains will be much earlier than usual – with all trains completing their journeys by 16.00. Passengers are advised to avoid travelling on Christmas Eve, if possible, check journey details before setting out if they do need to travel, to travel much earlier than usual and consider travelling on the day before (23rd December), if possible.
As usual, there will be no Greater Anglia services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and because of the industrial action, there will also be no Stansted Express services on Boxing Day (as well as no Stansted Express services on Christmas Day, as usual).
On 27th December, there will be no trains running before 08.15 due to the industrial action.
More information about the strikes, including service information and timetables, can be found at https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/strikes Further industrial action is currently planned for 3rd,4th,6th,7th January which will mean no services operating on most routes and a very limited service for reduced hours on the routes from Norwich, Colchester, Southend, Cambridge and Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street.
In addition, to help further improve service reliability, Network Rail is carrying out engineering works from the end of Saturday 24th December until Monday 2nd January on various routes.
This means that some journeys to/from London – including intercity services to Ipswich and Norwich, services to Southend Victoria and services to Stansted Airport, Cambridge and Hertford East – will involve longer journey times, a bus replacement service for part of the way and/or travel via an alternative route.
Engineering work is taking place as follows:
From Tuesday 27th December until Monday 2nd January, engineering work is taking place near London Liverpool Street. As a result, no trains will be able to run in or out of London Liverpool Street station.
Alternative arrangements for passengers include:
- Norwich / Ipswich and branch line trains will run to / from Ingatestone. Buses will run between Ingatestone and Newbury Park Underground station. Passengers can use London Underground services between Newbury Park and Stratford / London Liverpool Street.
- Southend Victoria services will run between Southend Victoria and Billericay. Buses will replace trains between Billericay and Newbury Park Underground station. Passengers can use London Underground services between Newbury Park and Stratford / London Liverpool Street.
- Stansted Airport / Cambridge / Hertford East services will run to / from Tottenham Hale only. Passengers can use London Underground services between Tottenham Hale and Central London.
In addition to this work, on Tuesday 27th December, engineering work is taking place between Southend Victoria / Southminster and London Liverpool Street. As a result, buses will replace trains between Southend Victoria / Southminster and Newbury Park all day.
From Tuesday 27th December to Monday 2nd January, engineering work is taking place between Tottenham Hale and London Liverpool Street / Stratford.
As a result, there will be a reduced West Anglia service in operation, with trains from Cambridge/Stansted Airport/Hertford East terminating at / starting from Tottenham Hale. Services will not operate between Meridian Water and Stratford. Passengers are advised to use London Underground services between Tottenham Hale and Central London.
Revised timetables are available in the “service alterations” section of the Greater Anglia website, or on the Greater Anglia app or Twitter.
Bank holiday timetables will be in place on New Year’s Day.
Customers are also advised that service alterations due to engineering work or industrial action are affecting other train operators across the UK throughout the period from 19 December to 9th January, so everyone should check their rail journey details before they travel, so they can plan their arrangements accordingly.
Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia Managing Director said, “We will do everything we can to help passengers over the festive season, so that their journeys can go as smoothly as possible, and as expected.
“If you are travelling with us, please do check before you travel as some journeys make take longer than normal or arrive or depart at different times than usual.
“If there is engineering works on your journey, we will be working hard to make sure that you can still complete your journey, even if part of it is by bus”
“I would like to thank our customers for travelling with us and wish them all a peaceful and happy festive season.”
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “Work over Christmas is critical for upgrading and maintaining the railway ahead of the new year, with our teams out on the tracks while many of us are having fun and relaxing in our homes.
“We have a significant Christmas programme this year, particularly on the lines into Liverpool Street. I hope passengers can understand the need for the upgrades and I’d like to reassure them that we’ll be getting a huge amount done while trains aren’t running. I also want to say thank you to our lineside neighbours for bearing with us while we’re out working hard in their communities.”
The following summary provides a quick reference schedule of Greater Anglia services over the Festive Period:
19th – 23rd December – Normal service
24th December – All services finish by 16.00 at the latest. Customers are advised to avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary.
25th December – No services
26th December – No services – please note that due to strike action the normal Boxing Day Stansted Express service will NOT operate. There will be no Stansted Express services at all.
27th December – Services start later than normal – from 08.15 onwards.
28th December – 2nd January – Amended services, with no services into London Liverpool Street due to major engineering works
3rd – 4th January – Strike action means no services on most routes and a very limited service for reduced hours on the routes from Norwich, Colchester, Southend, Cambridge and Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street. Customers are advised to avoid travelling with Greater Anglia.
5th January – Services start later than normal
6th – 7th January – Strike action means no services on most routes and a very limited service for reduced hours on the routes from Norwich, Colchester, Southend, Cambridge and Stansted Airport to London Liverpool Street. Customers are advised to avoid travelling with Greater Anglia.
8th January – Services start later than normal
9th January – Normal service
Other UK rail routes and other UK train operators are affected by industrial action and engineering works throughout the period from 19 December to 9 January, so customers are advised to check train times before travelling.
Press release from Greater Anglia
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