Two carriages derailed near Wickford on Friday. No trains Billericay to Hockley or to Southminster into next week: shuttles, buses, where your ticket is valid.
There are no trains through Wickford this weekend and there are unlikely to be any on Monday morning either. Two carriages of a Greater Anglia train derailed near Wickford station on the afternoon of Friday 14 August, and Network Rail says the damage to the track is extensive enough that the route between Billericay and Hockley, and the Southminster branch out of Wickford, will stay closed into next week. No significant injuries were reported. (Network Rail statement, 14 August; National Rail Enquiries disruption notice)
What happened
Network Rail’s group safety and engineering director, Martin Frobisher, said on Friday afternoon that the company was “responding to a derailment incident near Wickford station in Essex”, that “two carriages have derailed but remained fully upright, and there are no significant injuries reported”. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has investigators at the scene, and Network Rail asked people “to avoid speculating on the cause of any incidents until further information is available”. (Network Rail)
It was the second passenger-train derailment in England in two days, after a more serious one at Lewes in East Sussex on Thursday 13 August. Network Rail’s statement covered both and pointed to “the unprecedented hot and dry weather that we have experienced this summer”, saying it had been monitoring track temperatures and imposing speed restrictions “where it is appropriate to do so”. It stopped well short of giving a cause for either derailment, and so do we. (Network Rail)
National Rail Enquiries logged the incident at 14:24 on Friday. Its notice, last updated at 00:23 on Sunday 16 August, says the lines “remain closed” because of “extensive damage to the railway infrastructure”, that a Network Rail response team is on site “assessing the condition of the route”, and that “it is unlikely that the route will be reopened over the weekend and disruption may continue into next week”. (National Rail Enquiries)
What is running
As of Sunday morning, according to National Rail Enquiries (disruption notice):
- Billericay still has trains to London. A half-hourly shuttle is running between London Liverpool Street and Billericay. Everything east of Billericay is cancelled or cut short.
- Wickford and Rayleigh have no trains at all. The section between Billericay and Hockley is closed. A limited rail replacement bus runs between Billericay and Rochford.
- Southend end. A half-hourly shuttle runs between Southend Victoria and Hockley.
- Southminster branch. No trains between Wickford and Southminster; rail replacement buses run between the two.
- Braintree. Passengers should take a Liverpool Street to Witham train and change for the Witham to Braintree shuttle.
The notice warns that replacement buses “may be busier than usual” and that alterations for Monday 17 August and beyond “are not yet showing”, so anyone commuting tomorrow needs to check again before leaving the house.
Where your ticket is valid
Greater Anglia tickets are being accepted at no extra cost on (National Rail Enquiries):
- c2c between London Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street, West Ham and Southend Central. For most of Wickford, that means the c2c line through Basildon, Laindon and Pitsea; our Basildon trains to London page has the times and last trains from all three.
- First Bus 25 (Southend, Rayleigh, Wickford, Basildon), 300 (Chelmsford, Billericay, Basildon) and X10 (Chelmsford, Wickford, Basildon), all “for c2c connections”, plus the X30 between Chelmsford, Rayleigh and Southend.
- Arriva 1 (Rayleigh to Southend), 7 and 8 (Rayleigh, Hockley, Rochford, Prittlewell, Southend) and 9 (Rayleigh, Prittlewell, Southend).
- London Overground Liberty line between Romford and Upminster for c2c connections, and the Underground on the Circle line between Liverpool Street and Tower Hill (for Fenchurch Street), the Jubilee between Stratford and West Ham, and the Liberty line.
Advance tickets can be used on an earlier or later train if the booked one is cancelled, and anyone delayed can claim compensation: keep the ticket and note the journey. (National Rail Enquiries)
What it means for you
- If you commute from Wickford, the practical choice on Monday is the X10 or 25 bus to Basildon and c2c to Fenchurch Street, or a lift to Billericay for the Liverpool Street shuttle. Radford Crescent car park by Billericay station is £8.50 all day on weekdays; details on our roadworks and travel page.
- If you commute from Billericay, you have a train, but a shuttle rather than the normal timetable, and it will be carrying Wickford’s passengers as well as its own. Check the live boards before you set off.
- If you live on the Southminster branch, South Woodham Ferrers, Burnham and Southminster included, it is buses to Wickford and then buses onward, so allow a good deal longer.
- Do not rely on this page on Monday. National Rail’s Monday plan was not published when we wrote this. Check the live notice or Greater Anglia’s journey check before you travel; we will update our travel page as the position changes.
What we could not confirm
Greater Anglia’s own service-updates page and British Transport Police’s newsroom both refused automated requests on Sunday morning, so the passenger numbers on board and the exact position of the train are not confirmed here from a first-party source. National Rail Enquiries’ notice describes the derailment as “on Friday 12 August” in one line and logs the incident at 14:24 on Friday 14 August in another; the 14th was the Friday, and Network Rail’s statement is dated the same day.
Related
- Basildon trains to London: times, fares and last trains from Basildon, Laindon, Pitsea, Billericay and Wickford.
- Basildon roadworks and travel: what is closed on the roads this month, and station parking.
Have your say
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