Network Rail to renew 1km of flood-damaged track on Hertford East branch in nine-day closure

Network Rail will close the Hertford East branch line in Hertfordshire for nine days from Saturday 17 October to replace 1km of track flooded by a burst Thames Water sewer pipe last December.

The closure runs until Sunday 25 October. No trains will call at Hertford East, Ware, St Margarets or Rye House during the works, Network Rail said, with rail replacement buses and ticket acceptance on other routes in place.

Engineers will completely renew the rails, sleepers and ballast over the 1km stretch through Rye House station. Network Rail said the new track is expected to last for more than half a century.

Martin Beable, Chief Operating Officer for GBR Anglia, said: "There's never a good time to close the railway, especially for an extended period, but this is a big job that we must get done to keep providing the best possible service on the Hertford East branch."

The December flood

The tracks at Rye House were flooded on the afternoon of Wednesday 17 December 2025 after a Thames Water sewer pipe burst near the station, according to Network Rail. The line was shut for nearly a week while teams brought the water under control and carried out a full clean-up.

Thames Water installed pumps and pipes over several days to manage the flow. Network Rail engineers replaced equipment damaged by the flooding and checked track and signalling before services between Broxbourne and Hertford East resumed on 24 December.

Katie Frost, route director for Network Rail Anglia, said at the time: "This was a complex situation, and we had to prioritise the safety of passengers, neighbours and our staff."

Network Rail, Greater Anglia and Thames Water said in December that they would continue to monitor the area closely. Network Rail has since said that only some repairs were made to the infrastructure at the time and that extensive work is now needed to make the route fit for the future.

The nine-day closure was first announced on 10 September 2026.

Station works bundled in

Network Rail is using the same possession to complete other jobs on the branch. At St Margarets station, engineers will finish upgrading platform 1 and carry out maintenance on the footbridge.

Over the first weekend, 17 and 18 October, maintenance will also take place on the main line between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport and Cambridge, and on the London Overground Weaver line between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt. That work includes platform improvements at Cheshunt and Stansted Mountfitchet stations.

Passenger arrangements

Buses will replace trains between Hertford East and Waltham Cross on 17 and 18 October, and between Hertford East and Broxbourne from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October. During the second phase, trains that would normally run between Hertford East and London will start and finish at Broxbourne or Bishop's Stortford.

Greater Anglia tickets will be valid on Great Northern services between Hertford North and Moorgate or London King's Cross throughout the closure. Network Rail urged passengers to use these alternatives because replacement buses to and from Hertford East have limited space.

On the Weaver line there will be no service between Edmonton Green and Cheshunt on 17 and 18 October, with Transport for London bus L2 running twice an hour.

GBR Anglia

The works are being delivered under GBR Anglia, which Network Rail describes as bringing c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia together under a single unified structure on the way to Great British Railways. Network Rail said the three organisations are increasingly planning and delivering as one railway.

c2c said in July 2026 that the structure forms part of wider plans to create Great British Railways, bringing track and train closer together, with train operators being brought into public ownership ahead of GBR's creation in 2027. c2c also described the Anglia route as the most punctual in the country.

Beable, quoted as managing director for Greater Anglia when the line reopened in December 2025, now holds the GBR Anglia chief operating officer post.

The closure of the Hertford East branch ends on Sunday 25 October.