London Overground line serving five Hackney stations to close for 11 days over Christmas
The line will close for 11 days over the festive period. Photograph: Andrei Ianovskii / Unsplash
A London Overground line which serves multiple Hackney stations will close for 11 days over Christmas and three weekends in the new year.
The Mildmay Line – which runs between Stratford and Richmond or Clapham Junction, via Canonbury, Dalston Kingsland, Hackney Central, Homerton and Hackney Wick – will undergo a series of planned engineering works during the festive period, as well as in January and February.
Passengers can anticipate closures between 25 December and 4 January, as well as 10-11 January, 31 January – 1 February and 14-15 February.
On Thursday, 25 December the line will be fully shut, while on Boxing Day replacement buses will operate between Shepherd’s Bush and Camden Road, and between Camden Road and Stratford. A shuttle service will run between Shepherd’s Bush and Clapham Junction.
From 27 December until 4 January, there will be no service between Camden Road and Richmond, or Camden Road and Shepherd’s Bush. A special train service via Queen’s Park will run between Willesden Junction and Stratford.
A shuttle train will run between Shepherd’s Bush and Clapham Junction, while replacement buses will operate between Camden Road and Gunnersbury.
Between Saturday, 10 January and Sunday, 11 January, no trains will run between Gospel Oak and Richmond or Shepherd’s Bush.
A special service will run between Willesden Junction and Stratford and a shuttle train will run between Shepherd’s Bush and Clapham Junction. Meanwhile rail replacement buses will run between Camden Road and Gunnersbury.
Between Saturday, 31 January and Sunday, 1 February, and again between Saturday, 14 February and Sunday, 15 February, there will be no service between Camden Road and both Richmond and Shepherd’s Bush.
Once again, a special train service will run between Willesden Junction and Stratford and a shuttle train will run between Shepherd’s Bush and Clapham Junction.
Replacement buses will run between Camden Road and Gunnersbury and between Camden Road and Richmond on Sunday, 15 February.
National Rail said there would be an increased risk of regular track faults if the work is not carried out, causing delays.
Simon Milburn, infrastructure director for Network Rail Anglia, said: “We’re sorry for the extended closure at Christmas and the additional weekends in the new year, but this is a big job that will make a real positive impact for passengers in the long-term.
“The busy Mildmay line is shared with regular heavy freight trains, which means there’s more stress and strain on the track than on other parts of the network. We are installing a new track that is built to last for decades to come.”
The Citizen has contacted Transport for London for comment.