Trains between London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria are running to a revised timetable

3:11pm Tuesday 24th July 2012 in News By Emma Thomas

TRAINS between Southend and London are running slower than usual due to overhead wire problems.

Services in and out of London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria are running to a revised timetable after decades old cable between Stratford and Chelmsford has sagged in the heat.

Network Rail says it is currently upgrading the overhead wire on the Greater Anglia line as part of a multi-million pound project - but this section has not been replaced yet.

Some services are not calling at Romford and journeys are taking longer than usual. The problems are set to continue into this evening's rush hour.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are currently in the middle of a £200m+ project to completely replace all the overhead lines on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Chelmsford.

“While the core section from Liverpool Street to Stratford has been completed, the sections of railway which have speed restrictions in place today have overhead lines dating from the 1950s and 1960s.

"The wire in these sections can expand and sag in high temperatures and, as a result, it is necessary to reduce speeds in order to avoid damaging the equipment and trains.

“The contingency arrangements put in place today are tried and tested and are designed to minimise both the risk of damage to equipment and trains as well as any disruption to passengers.”

Commuters are advised to check www.journeycheck.com/greateranglia before they travel.

 

Comments (23)

3:18pm Tue 24 Jul 12

The Cater Wood Creeper says...

'wrong sort of sunshine' - page 45, paragraph 27 subsection 7(iii) of the Railway Service Providers' Excuse Manual. 125th edition (revised) published December 2011
'wrong sort of sunshine' - page 45, paragraph 27 subsection 7(iii) of the Railway Service Providers' Excuse Manual. 125th edition (revised) published December 2011 The Cater Wood Creeper

3:20pm Tue 24 Jul 12

j-w says...

http://www.echo-news
.co.uk/archive/2011/
06/28/News/9109338.T
rains_fail_to_take_s
train_in_heat/


http://www.echo-news
.co.uk/archive/2003/
08/07/Essex+Archive/
5450334.Essex__Boili
ng_point/
http://www.echo-news .co.uk/archive/2011/ 06/28/News/9109338.T rains_fail_to_take_s train_in_heat/ http://www.echo-news .co.uk/archive/2003/ 08/07/Essex+Archive/ 5450334.Essex__Boili ng_point/ j-w

4:25pm Tue 24 Jul 12

billericay boy says...

They won't win any Gold Medals for this one.
They won't win any Gold Medals for this one. billericay boy

5:21pm Tue 24 Jul 12

Happygirly says...

Oh dear not a good start
Oh dear not a good start Happygirly

5:23pm Tue 24 Jul 12

craigie123 says...

why cant greater anglia have air con like c2c, yesterday awful on the liverpool st to southend line made me sick
why cant greater anglia have air con like c2c, yesterday awful on the liverpool st to southend line made me sick craigie123

5:44pm Tue 24 Jul 12

The Cater Wood Creeper says...

craigie123 wrote:
why cant greater anglia have air con like c2c, yesterday awful on the liverpool st to southend line made me sick
they're going for the more traditional, heaters on at full blast and carriages left in the blazing sun at a siding somewhere until required for rush hour duties approach of the 'good old days' when it used to be British Rail.

In winter it'll be the draughtiest carriages available and no heating with windows jammed slightly ajar approach, of course
[quote][p][bold]craigie123[/bold] wrote: why cant greater anglia have air con like c2c, yesterday awful on the liverpool st to southend line made me sick[/p][/quote]they're going for the more traditional, heaters on at full blast and carriages left in the blazing sun at a siding somewhere until required for rush hour duties approach of the 'good old days' when it used to be British Rail. In winter it'll be the draughtiest carriages available and no heating with windows jammed slightly ajar approach, of course The Cater Wood Creeper

6:10pm Tue 24 Jul 12

Steve H says...

Ridiculous, it's not even 'that' hot!!!
Ridiculous, it's not even 'that' hot!!! Steve H

6:32pm Tue 24 Jul 12

Norfolk says...

If these overhead lines date from the 1950s and 1960s can someone please explain why in those days this sort of slow running wasn't necessary. Yet another case of H & S rules being excessively applied perhaps.
If these overhead lines date from the 1950s and 1960s can someone please explain why in those days this sort of slow running wasn't necessary. Yet another case of H & S rules being excessively applied perhaps. Norfolk

7:08pm Tue 24 Jul 12

Audioman says...

I just don't believe it,how do other counrtries cope !!!!!
I just don't believe it,how do other counrtries cope !!!!! Audioman

8:02pm Tue 24 Jul 12

Nebs says...

They don't want you to use the trains.
They don't want you to use the trains. Nebs

8:49pm Tue 24 Jul 12

emcee says...

Good grief!
If there is a problem, why not tell the truth rather than use the weather as an excuse each time. The excuses should make these companies more embarassed than the issue itself. Next thing we'll hear is that things are not working or are delayed because things are "too normal".
Good grief! If there is a problem, why not tell the truth rather than use the weather as an excuse each time. The excuses should make these companies more embarassed than the issue itself. Next thing we'll hear is that things are not working or are delayed because things are "too normal". emcee

9:21pm Tue 24 Jul 12

Gone Expat says...

The truthful answer is having charged passengers fares and justifying the fare increases against maintenance and stock replacement the Rail Company has failed to provide a reasonable level of either. They should be made to reduce the fares!
The truthful answer is having charged passengers fares and justifying the fare increases against maintenance and stock replacement the Rail Company has failed to provide a reasonable level of either. They should be made to reduce the fares! Gone Expat

9:50pm Tue 24 Jul 12

SARFENDMAN says...

The wonderous 11a.m. First X30 Express Coach on way from Stansted also overheated today. A lot of officials in yellow jackets head scratching at Chelmsford but Joe public was left in the dark to find their own alternative means of transport.
The wonderous 11a.m. First X30 Express Coach on way from Stansted also overheated today. A lot of officials in yellow jackets head scratching at Chelmsford but Joe public was left in the dark to find their own alternative means of transport. SARFENDMAN

10:30pm Tue 24 Jul 12

leighsteve says...

TO BE fair, they did the same last year and said they'll replace the overhead cables asap. It's not a simple job so im prepared to give them a break as replacing the cable will cause many day's outage which everyone will moan about. Metal does expand in heat, simple physics, and today's trains are higher speed and more frequent so let them cope how they can till they put weights on like the c2c line.
TO BE fair, they did the same last year and said they'll replace the overhead cables asap. It's not a simple job so im prepared to give them a break as replacing the cable will cause many day's outage which everyone will moan about. Metal does expand in heat, simple physics, and today's trains are higher speed and more frequent so let them cope how they can till they put weights on like the c2c line. leighsteve

11:22pm Tue 24 Jul 12

AnotherSister says...

When I used to commute, the most questionable excuse I ever heard was.... "We apologise for the late running of your train this morning. This is due to late running" !!!!!
When I used to commute, the most questionable excuse I ever heard was.... "We apologise for the late running of your train this morning. This is due to late running" !!!!! AnotherSister

1:05am Wed 25 Jul 12

Trainman says...

STOP complaining, as passengers ARE the worst cause of delays upon the railway. You NEVER complain when some IDIOT causes delays on roads, by crashing their car, because they COULDN'T keep to the speed limit, or whatever.
STOP complaining, as passengers ARE the worst cause of delays upon the railway. You NEVER complain when some IDIOT causes delays on roads, by crashing their car, because they COULDN'T keep to the speed limit, or whatever. Trainman

4:02am Wed 25 Jul 12

Dumbnut says...

Trainman wrote:
STOP complaining, as passengers ARE the worst cause of delays upon the railway. You NEVER complain when some IDIOT causes delays on roads, by crashing their car, because they COULDN'T keep to the speed limit, or whatever.
^ Here we go again ^. WHEN you pay what we do for a third class service, then come back to have a go. You USED to work in it, but, now you don't. Please give it a rest & change the record.
[quote][p][bold]Trainman[/bold] wrote: STOP complaining, as passengers ARE the worst cause of delays upon the railway. You NEVER complain when some IDIOT causes delays on roads, by crashing their car, because they COULDN'T keep to the speed limit, or whatever.[/p][/quote]^ Here we go again ^. WHEN you pay what we do for a third class service, then come back to have a go. You USED to work in it, but, now you don't. Please give it a rest & change the record. Dumbnut

10:46am Wed 25 Jul 12

AndyBSG says...

"STOP complaining, as passengers ARE the worst cause of delays upon the railway"

Odd that because of the 11 instances where I have been late for work this year only 1 of those was due to a passenger/member of the public, which was the death of the overhead cable thief a few weeks ago.

The other 10 were all caused by signalling problems or broken down trains so my experience of the cause of delays is completely contrary to your 'fact' that the public are responsible for most delays.
"STOP complaining, as passengers ARE the worst cause of delays upon the railway" Odd that because of the 11 instances where I have been late for work this year only 1 of those was due to a passenger/member of the public, which was the death of the overhead cable thief a few weeks ago. The other 10 were all caused by signalling problems or broken down trains so my experience of the cause of delays is completely contrary to your 'fact' that the public are responsible for most delays. AndyBSG

12:43pm Wed 25 Jul 12

The Cater Wood Creeper says...

ought to be worse still today as it's hotter than yesterday.

So glad I gave up on commuting years ago......
ought to be worse still today as it's hotter than yesterday. So glad I gave up on commuting years ago...... The Cater Wood Creeper

9:59am Thu 26 Jul 12

openspace says...

If that's the sort of thing that appears on "Twitter", it's well named.
If that's the sort of thing that appears on "Twitter", it's well named. openspace

11:30am Thu 26 Jul 12

alimac69 says...

C2C was running slow this morning too - no word from the driver as to why
C2C was running slow this morning too - no word from the driver as to why alimac69

12:15pm Thu 26 Jul 12

The Cater Wood Creeper says...

alimac69 wrote:
C2C was running slow this morning too - no word from the driver as to why
'wrong sort of Thursday' probably....
[quote][p][bold]alimac69[/bold] wrote: C2C was running slow this morning too - no word from the driver as to why[/p][/quote]'wrong sort of Thursday' probably.... The Cater Wood Creeper

1:41pm Thu 26 Jul 12

152 says...

To give you an idea of how old the cables are, search on YouTube for "Service to Southend". You can watch a steam crane install the gantries between (I think) Rochford and Hockley.
To give you an idea of how old the cables are, search on YouTube for "Service to Southend". You can watch a steam crane install the gantries between (I think) Rochford and Hockley. 152

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