Following upgrades carried out over the recent Bank Holiday weekend, rail passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex can look forward to an improved service.

Over the three-day period, Network Rail’s Team Orange (www.networkrail.co.uk) installed 4km of overhead wire between Billericay and Wickford as part of an on-going £46 million project.

This is a continuation of the work to replace the old overhead wiring system with a new one that adapts automatically to heat during the summer, resulting in fewer delays and cancellations.

This new wiring system will also allow Greater Anglia to run its fleet of new trains with extra seats (from 2019), and to run more services to meet growing passenger demand.

Work also took place to install overhead wire at Ilford (on the main line between Norwich and London) as part of a £250 million programme to upgrade one of the oldest overhead wiring systems in the country.

Over the second Bank Holiday weekend this month (26-28 May), more work will take place at Ilford, where engineers will replace a further 3km of overhead wire.