Braintree district: Minimal weekend disruption on trains next year (From Braintree and Witham Times)
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Braintree district: Minimal weekend disruption on trains next year
7:00am Tuesday 25th September 2012 in News
Greater Anglia operates train services throughout north Essex
Weekend train users are in the middle of 11 straight weeks of disruption, but they are being promised a smoother ride next year.
No services are running between Witham and Shenfield on Saturdays or Sundays until the end of November, forcing passengers to use replacement buses.
But Network Rail is promising minimal disruption after that, with minor alterations over Christmas and New Year, and only two Saturday line closures in 2013.
Since 2007, there have been an average 30 weekends a year requiring bus replacement services.
But Network Rail announced today there would be only be seven weekends when engineering work would take place on the Greater Anglia line during 2013.
Dave Ward, Network Rail route managing director for Anglia, said: "We expect it will have a positive impact on the whole region, boosting economic growth as more people use the railway at weekends.
“There is still a huge amount of work to do to improve things further but we have found a much better balance, which I hope passengers will welcome.”
Ruud Haket, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “I am delighted that our positive partnership and alliance with Network Rail has enabled us to take a fresh look at the scheduling of infrastructure works to put passenger needs first.
“Our customers will benefit from more seamless weekend services, which will encourage more people to take the train.”
