Greater Anglia customers advised to check before they travel on Hertford East line as eight-day stretch of engineering works planned

Greater Anglia is advising customers to check before they travel and allow extra time for their journeys as buses replace trains on the Hertford East line for eight days in a row next month.

Work is taking place from Monday 11 to Monday 18 April as part of a project to extend platforms at Hertford East and Ware so Greater Anglia’s new ten-carriage electric commuter trains can stop at the stations.

Customers will still be able to complete their journeys throughout the eight days:

• Greater Anglia customers will be able to use their tickets on Great Northern services from Hertford North to London King’s Cross or Moorgate for the duration of the eight-day closure
• A rail replacement service will also operate from Hertford East, Ware, St Margarets and Rye House to Broxbourne, where Greater Anglia trains will run to London Liverpool Street.

The works coincide with Network Rail track works between Bishops Stortford and Waltham Cross from Good Friday to Easter Monday, during which time the Hertford East rail replacement bus service will continue to Waltham Cross to connect with the train service to London.

Further work on the platform extensions is due to take place in the summer with the new longer platforms expected to be completed by the autumn.

A ‘meet the manager’ session is due to be held at Ware station on Wednesday 6 April, when customers will be able to talk to staff face-to-face about the closure.

Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia’s Client and Programme Director, said: “We thank our customers for their patience while this essential work takes place to get the Hertford East line ready to accommodate our new trains so they can run at their full length.

“There are 1,000 seats when two of our 5-carriage commuter trains are coupled together, so more customers will be able to get a seat than ever before.”

The trains are longer with more seats. They have USB and plug points, fast free Wi-Fi, air conditioning, improved accessibility features including an accessible toilet on every train, better passenger information screens and dedicated cycle spaces.

They also have many more environmental features including regenerative braking which puts electricity back into the network during braking and lighter, more aerodynamic chassis which make trains more energy efficient.