Normal train service resumes after ‘extensive repairs’ following derailment
Trains have resumed normal service from London to an Essex seaside town after “extensive repairs” following a derailment, Greater Anglia said
Trains have resumed normal service from London to an Essex seaside town after “extensive repairs” following a derailment, Greater Anglia said.
A Greater Anglia train derailed south of Wickford station, Essex, on August 14 – less than 24 hours after two passengers were seriously injured when a Southern Rail service came off the tracks in East Sussex.
On Wednesday morning, Greater Anglia said “normal” service had resumed between Southend Victoria and London Liverpool Street that day, some 12 days after the Essex incident.
In a video posted on X, Jamie Burles, managing director for GBR Anglia, said: “The restoring of normal services follows extensive repairs to the railway, which were required following the recent derailment involving the rear carriage of one of our Greater Anglia trains.
“Thankfully, no-one was hurt but significant work was needed before we were in a position to be able to reopen the line.
“Over the last week-and-a-half, our colleagues have worked around the clock to replace one-and-a-half miles of damaged track, over 3,700 sleepers, as well as undertaking major repairs to signalling, overhead lines, bridges, and embankments.”
Mr Burles said he was “very sorry” for the time taken to resume normal services, adding that staff had done everything possible to complete repairs “as quickly as possible”.
It comes after Network Rail said rail passengers in Essex and London may face longer journeys until next Tuesday because of issues caused by drought and hot weather.
Network Rail said amended timetables are being introduced on the Southend Victoria to London line as well as the nearby c2c route between Shoeburyness in Essex and London, following a summer of record-breaking heatwaves.
Sustained hot weather and low rainfall have caused the clay underneath long stretches of the railway in Essex to dry out and shrink, causing some issues with the quality of the track, Network Rail said.
The changes, which will last until next Tuesday, mean that some journeys will take between two and eight minutes longer than usual with adjusted departure and arrival times.
Investigations into both derailments are looking at all possible causes, but officials have acknowledged that hot weather has presented the railway with a series of challenges.