Rye house flooding - Hertford East branch closed

[mr_moo]

Hi,

Yesterday, (Wed 17th December), the Hertford East branch was closed following, depending on which source you read, "a burst water main", "a burst water pipe" or similar.

The railway is expected to remain closed till at least the end of Friday.

It's not a water main that's burst,, it's a sewer!

There's some impressive pics floating around, as well as, I assume, er I'll stop there...

An unusual one. It's the pipe in the bridge above the railway and has flooded the railway and the station. Lovely. I pity whoever gets the job of cleaning the station platforms and track area after that one.

I'm posting this from my phone and on a train so adding pics is difficult so I'll let others do that, but here's the two official pics posted by Greater Anglia:

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And the news article from the BBC, which tells you very little!

Greater Anglia trains cancelled after railway line floods

Flooding and signalling faults are causing issues on the line running from London Liverpool Street.

www.bbc.co.uk

Trains have been cancelled after a burst water main caused a railway line to flood.
Greater Anglia said water had flooded the track, external in Hertfordshire and damaged the signalling system at Rye House, which meant trains were unable to run between Broxbourne and Hertford East.
At the same time a separate signalling system error, external caused disruption on all services leaving London Liverpool Street, including those running to places such as Norwich, Ipswich, Clacton-On-Sea, Colchester Town, Braintree, Stansted Airport and Cambridge.
Greater Anglia and Network Rail apologised to customers and advised them to check if their journey had been affected before travelling.

 

[reddragon]

That is the Hoddesdon Sewer rising main that has burst. It serves a huge catchment and is about as big as you can get in the world of sewer rising mains.

 

[Edvid]

The irony of these mistaken references to burst "water" mains/pipes is that the open-air New River aqueduct parallels the Hertford East branch in that part of Hoddesdon

 

[Aaron_TTL]

Signalling showing accurate status, "H20*"

 

[Magdalia]

5H17 might be more appropriate.

 

[mr_moo]

5H17 might be more appropriate.

Took me a minute but yes!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Dec 2025 ==

That is the Hoddesdon Sewer rising main that has burst. It serves a huge catchment and is about as big as you can get in the world of sewer rising mains.

Wow. That gives some good contect. Not fun!

 

[MadMac]

5H17 might be more appropriate.

So it wasn’t just me, then…..

 

[TheHSRailFan]

Forgive me for not knowing where the sewers in my local area are...
But I'm pretty sure the New River is next to the station? I'm guessing there's a giant sewer between the river and rail line?

 

[tomh72]

One fun fact is that Rye Road from the west bank of the New River over the railway and all the way past the sewage works to the B161 actually belongs to Thames Water.

It's why when the bridge over the New River was replaced a few years ago it was Thames Water that did it not Hertfordshire Highways and why there's a toll booth if you drive all the way up past the sewage works.

 

[Magdalia]

There are pictures on the BBC website here:

Flooding shuts Rye House railway station for two days

Flooding from a burst water main causes "extensive damage" and disrupts services in Hertfordshire.

www.bbc.co.uk

A railway station will be closed until Friday after flooding from a burst water main caused "extensive damage".

Greater Anglia said water had flooded the track, external in Hertfordshire and damaged the signalling system at Rye House on Wednesday, meaning trains would be unable to run between Broxbourne and Hertford East.

No trains will run to or from Hertford East, and Rye House station will be closed until at least the end of Friday, National Rail has announced.

 

[Hadders]

I rented a flat on Rye Road for a year back in the late 1990s so know the area. There’s a large sewage works (Rye Meads) at the end of Rye Road so it’s probably one of the sewage pipes leading the works that’s burst.

Trivia - the road past the site is a private road (and a good short cut to the A414 towards Harlow) and you drive along it if you paid a 20p toll. I think it’s 50p now.

 

[tumbledown]

National Rail Enquiries now saying that the branch is not expected to repopen before the 24th, with a very limited rail-replacement service until then.
[Off topic, and speaking of sewage, does a public service website like NRE really need to be funded by clickbait and unpleasant adverts?]

 

[aron2smith]

Even though it's on a branch line, it's been enormously disruptive on the local roads and buses as people seek alternatives in an already congested area. It's nuts how little our transport and infrastructure can cope when something like this goes wrong these days, but not surprising given a lack of maintenance and investment since 2010 onwards. From what I've seen on Facebook, a section of road above the sewer pipe collapsed, probably some overweight lorry ignoring the restrictions. Road rules seem to lack enforcement these days too. I also feel sorry for the people used to the train suddenly having to rely on the unreliable 310 (the only local bus to fully parallel the line within walking distance) as specific information on the replacement is as limited as the replacement!

 

[tomh72]

I live just off Rye Road about ten minutes walk from the station and traffic seemed OK earlier when I went out but I think the main issues are actually in other places where they've put traffic control in place to allow tankers access to pump out sewage and truck it away to relieve the flow so they can start repairs - certainly the road heading into the industrial estate was surprisingly busy at lunch time but one of the pumping points is a bit further down that route on Essex Road.

I'm just hoping the trains are running by the 27th when I next want to use them but I'm not putting money on it...

 

[CyrusWuff]

Trivia - the road past the site is a private road (and a good short cut to the A414 towards Harlow) and you drive along it if you paid a 20p toll. I think it’s 50p now.

I drove down there about a year ago and the barriers were up, saving me 50p. A bit of Googling suggests that's been the case for a number of years, with Google Street View showing the payment machines were removed some time between June 2017 and November 2021.

 

[greatkingrat]

Another video here - looks more like a canal than a railway!

55K views · 182 reactions | Rye House today. Still flowimg but . They have shut of the 10-11 pumping stations that are flowing in and have 40 tankers coming in to help. It will take a 12-24hr for it to clear before they can start repairs and then in

Rye House today. Still flowimg but . They have shut of the 10-11 pumping stations that are flowing in and have 40 tankers coming in to help. It will take a 12-24hr for it to clear before they can...

www.facebook.com

 

[reddragon]

That facebook post looks accurate.

 

[mr_moo]

Here's another video on 'threads'. Wow.

(Note - Threads doesn't appear to work in firefox. This appears to be fine in Edge)

Elky Dee (@elkydee) on Threads

GreaterAnglia trains come on it’s only a bit of water, I’m late for work

www.threads.com

 

[DelW]

[Off topic, and speaking of sewage, does a public service website like NRE really need to be funded by clickbait and unpleasant adverts?]

Regarding that specific subject, there's a discussion on this thread:

Clickbait advertising on the forum

Similarly, I don't think I've seen any of the dubious ones since you acted - and they were very prolific beforehand. Much appreciated.

www.railforums.co.uk

which covers the matter of advertising on the forums, and measures being taken to reduce the type that you mention.

 

[reddragon]

Here's another video on 'threads'. Wow.

(Note - Threads doesn't appear to work in firefox. This appears to be fine in Edge)

Elky Dee (@elkydee) on Threads

GreaterAnglia trains come on it’s only a bit of water, I’m late for work

www.threads.com

Rail replacement boat service?

 

[D6130]

Rail replacement boat service?

....gas masks provided, presumably?

 

[mr_moo]

The normal rail service has been replaced by an inter****ty service...

 

[D6130]

Greater Anglia are advertising passengers that, until further notice, services will be reduced by a turd.

 

[tumbledown]

Regarding that specific subject, there's a discussion on this thread:

Clickbait advertising on the forum

Similarly, I don't think I've seen any of the dubious ones since you acted - and they were very prolific beforehand. Much appreciated.

www.railforums.co.uk

which covers the matter of advertising on the forums, and measures being taken to reduce the type that you mention.

Thanks, but I have no problem with the adverts on this forum - just with nationalrail.co.uk

 

[DelW]

Thanks, but I have no problem with the adverts on this forum - just with nationalrail.co.uk

Sorry, me not reading posts carefully enough! Some of the issues might be similar to here though.

 

[tumbledown]

No sign of timetabled RRB yet?

 

[mr_moo]

Rail replacement boat service?

Now that would be novel!

 

[reddragon]

There are frequent updates on this link: -

EN11 - Hoddesdon | Thames Water

www.thameswater.co.uk

The burst has also affected Rye House Train Station, which has had to close. We’re working closely with National Rail while their teams manage the impact on services. For up-to-date rail information, please visit: Incident: Rye House - Network Rail

Our teams are working as quickly as possible, but given the scale and complexity of this burst, repairs will take time. We expect our tankering and diversion operations to stop the flow of wastewater within the next 24 hours. It's taking longer than normal because the pipes are under pressure. Once the flow is under control, we will access the damaged pipe, carry out repairs, and ensure the area is fully cleaned.

We will provide another update tomorrow no later 11:00.

The rising main is still overflowing onto the tracks such is the scale of this one. 3 more pumping stations to be brought under control so I read. Then the repair can start for real.

 

[Starmill]

There are frequent updates on this link: -

EN11 - Hoddesdon | Thames Water

www.thameswater.co.uk

The rising main is still overflowing onto the tracks such is the scale of this one. 3 more pumping stations to be brought under control so I read. Then the repair can start for real.

That's wild. It also looks like a significant public health risk if anyone were coming into contact with that water. Hopefully nobody has.

 

[DerekC]

Can't see the line reopening for before Christmas. The cleanup will be very extensive, to put it mildly! Hopefully there isn't too much contaminated signalling equipment.