Suffragette Line / London Overground coming disruption due to bridge repairs

[Ccross]

Good evening all

This story has only a little bit of coverage - major disruption pending on the Suffragette Line coming at weekends

I would really welcome any more details anyone has on this?

Thanks so much

This London Overground line will get a year of disruption

130-year-old bridges are being replaced.

www.timeout.com

 

[Surreytraveller]

Surely it's planned closures rather than disruption?

 

[Mojo]

Surely it's planned closures rather than disruption?

Exactly what l was thinking.

 

[Stephen42]

The Network Rail press release is here

A project to replace bridges carrying London Overground trains over roads in the Forest Gate area will begin later this summer.

Network Rail will be replacing the following bridges:

• Talbot Road – E7 0DX
• Strode Road – E7 0DU
• Stracey Road – E7 0HG
• Latimer Road – E7 0LH

The old bridges are monitored closely to check they are safe, but they are 130 years old and need to be replaced to avoid unplanned disruption and keep everyone moving reliably in the future. The new bridges are expected to last until around the year 2150.

All the bridges are on the London Overground Suffragette line, between Leytonstone High Road and Woodgrange Park stations.

Work will begin at the Talbot Road and Stracey Road bridges on 1 September, with engineers starting on site at Strode Road and Latimer Road on 28 September. The road and pavement will be closed under each bridge throughout the project, with other road closures in the area being needed for shorter periods during 2027.

The first phase of the works will be to extend the support structures at the ends of the existing bridges so they can carry the new decks. Following this, the demolition of the old bridge decks and installation of the new spans is set to be carried out in spring 2027, with the project to be completed by late summer 2027.

Some weekend closures on the Suffragette line will be needed in 2027 as part of the scheme.

Timeout has translated "some weekend closures" into a year of overground line disruption. The engineering access statements searched for those bridge names gives 7 weekends of work, all in March to May 2027. There will be other engineering closures too, it's definitely not a closed every weekend situation though.

A year of closures is a fair description for anyone going under the bridges which will be closed throughout.

 

[High Dyke]

This London Overground line will get a year of disruption

130-year-old bridges are being replaced.

www.timeout.com

Further down in the above article it does state:

The good news is that the disruption is only meant to be on the weekends, so it hopefully won’t have knock on effect on commuters. Plus, replacing the bridges will (hopefully) prevent unplanned disruption for the future. The new bridges are expected to last right up until 2150.

 

[liam456]

As someone who has worked with the team that manages the structures within the Anglia Route of Network Rail, the state of some of the structures along this section of the Suffragette line (ELR: TAH2) shows that complete reconstruction is necessary. These are old structures with some large defects which while being safely managed with regular inspections and minor remedial works where required, show that the best option is being taken.

Glancing at our records, the bridges over Stracey Road and Latimer Road are in the worst state, with Talbot Road and Strode Road not far behind.

New bridge structures (when complete) will mean that freights over these lines will be able to travel at normal linespeed (45mph) and not specially-agreed reduced speeds (20mph) as they have to now. It is also likely to mean that in case of any future bridge strikes, they may be able to take a knock and still accept traffic over them at reduced speed rather than requiring an immediate line block. Plus the added benefits of significantly reduced operational costs in maintaining what will be a new bridge rather than these old, tired ones.

 

[Ccross]

thanks so much for this , glad to know there is a good reason for the works which will hopefully reduce goods train related delays in future. Does anyone know when I line is likely to be closed the article is so ambiguous but there’s nothing I can find on TfL

 

[SynthD]

Does anyone know when I line is likely to be closed the article is so ambiguous but there’s nothing I can find on TfL

The NR press release quoted above suggests weekend closures in September and early October, or longer if there are more than two teams at work.

 

[SteveHFC]

The NR press release quoted above suggests weekend closures in September and early October, or longer if there are more than two teams at work.

No it doesn't as I understand it. The press release states that there will be road and pavement closures later this year, but any closures on the Suffragette Line are expected to be over weekends (it doesn't say which weekends) in 2027.