The Elizabeth Line has changed the way we travel into central London, with the journey to Tottenham Court Road and Paddington now one simple train ride away from Shenfield and Brentwood.
Local residents have endured years of disruption to services as platforms have been extended for the new longer trains, and overhead and trackside electrical work carried out.
The track used by the Elizabeth Line and the Great Eastern Mainline is heavily used and regular maintenance is still needed. This means weekend services from Shenfield and Brentwood were stopped over Christmas 2022 and for several weekends in February and March, causing great inconvenience to my constituents who need to travel into London for work and leisure.
I have asked for an update on services for the rest of the year and have received the following information from Network Rail:
“It is worth noting that the final milestone of the Elizabeth line programme occurs in May, when some services from Shenfield travel beyond Paddington to Heathrow Airport. To support this point, and to undertake other renewal and maintenance works, we carried out a range of works which included a variety of power supply upgrades over Christmas and other infrastructure improvements in the early part of this year. This will ensure network resilience when, for the first time, we connect the Great Eastern with the Great Western.
“We close the railway over Christmas because this is when passenger demand is at its lowest. I do understand it’s still inconvenient for many, but it’s much less disruptive than closing the railway at other times.
“Looking forward, the Elizabeth line is expected to be closed on very few weekends. However, additional closures could still be planned should further work be required.”
I’m keen for the Elizabeth Line services to be as regular as possible given the amount of work which has gone into this new service over the years, and will keep in touch with Network Rail for updates on any further work which needs to be done. In the meantime, enjoy the new service which is such a benefit for commuters travelling from this constituency to the capital and beyond.
