Network Rail is set to refurbish a worn-out junction in north London that is used intensively by London Overground trains.
Services will be affected while engineers carry out the upgrade over several weekends in the late spring and summer, as well as on a working weekday, Tuesday 28 May.
The project involves the replacement of points. The four sets of points being replaced are used to transfer trains travelling from Liverpool Street onto either the Enfield Town or Cheshunt lines, as well as bringing services back the other way. This makes them critical to the everyday running of the railway, and the age of the current equipment increases the likelihood of faults that can cause disruption to passengers.
Once installed, the new points will help to keep the service running safely and reliably for decades to come. They will be built on modern concrete sleepers, which are more durable than the current wooden ones. Engineers will also be fully replacing the rails themselves, the machinery that allows the points to move and 175 metres of straight track near the junction.
Work will be carried out on the following dates:
Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May
Sunday 26, Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 May
Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June
Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 July
Work taking place during the late May bank holiday weekend will start on Sunday 26 May and continue until the end of Tuesday 28 May. This work was extended into the Tuesday, which is a normal working weekday following the bank holiday Monday, to help customers wanting to travel to a major rugby event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 25 May.
Impact on train services
On all of the dates above, there will be no service on the London Overground between Hackney Downs and Enfield Town / Cheshunt stations. Replacement buses will operate between Seven Sisters and Enfield Town / Cheshunt. Passengers are advised to use London Underground and London Buses connections between Liverpool Street and Seven Sisters. For Rectory Road and Stoke Newington, passengers should use Clapton station on the Chingford line. Hackney Downs will be served by Chingford services and Greater Anglia trains.
On some of the dates, Bethnal Green, Cambridge Heath and London Fields stations will also have no rail service.
Passengers should check before they travel at tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/
Greater Anglia services will still run but services that usually call at Seven Sisters will stop at Tottenham Hale instead.
Simon Milburn, Network Rail Anglia Infrastructure Director, said: “Improving the condition of this junction is essential for keeping trains on time in future, with some of the old track having been laid over 60 years ago. We’ll be making the most of the time we have available to install up-to-date equipment and deliver a reliability boost to these very busy lines.”
Rory O’Neill, TfL’s General Manager for London Overground, said: “Helping ensure our customers continue to receive a safe and reliable service is key for us here at Transport for London and these Network Rail track maintenance works will help ensure this will happen for many years to come. My advice is to plan ahead, check before you travel and allow extra time to complete your journey while this work is taking place.”
