Passengers on c2c services face disruption for the rest of the week after a freight train came off the rails at Barking, with three stations left without trains and other services diverted away from their usual stops.
The operator says the knock-on effects of Friday’s derailment will last until the end of Thursday, as repair teams work through damage to the railway infrastructure at Barking that has already forced days of cancellations and diversions.
Trains are not calling at Dagenham Dock, Rainham and Purfleet until further notice, while services that would normally call at Stratford and Liverpool Street are being diverted to West Ham and Fenchurch Street instead.
What happened at Barking
On Friday 23 October, a GB Rail freight container train travelling from London Gateway partially derailed at Barking. The operator says the incident caused significant damage to the railway infrastructure, and that damage is the reason services are still disrupted three days on.
The derailment was first covered as a developing story on Friday, when the scale of the disruption was still emerging — our live coverage of the Barking freight derailment followed events as they unfolded. Monday’s update confirms the position has not improved: the railway around Barking is still not back to normal, and the operator now expects the disruption to run through the whole week.
c2c says the disruption is anticipated to continue until the end of the day on Thursday 29 October, as teams work to resolve the situation. No earlier return to normal service has been promised, and the three skipped stations remain unserved until further notice — meaning passengers there need an alternative for every journey until the operator says otherwise.
Which services are affected
The picture for passengers breaks down like this:
Trains are not stopping at Dagenham Dock, Rainham and Purfleet at all until further notice. Services that would usually call at Stratford and Liverpool Street are being diverted instead to West Ham and Fenchurch Street, so passengers heading for those two stations need to change their plans.
Elsewhere on the network, services are subject to cancellations and diversions as the operator works around the damaged infrastructure. The disruption comes at the start of a week in which many commuters will be travelling, and it follows a weekend in which services were already heavily affected.
It is the latest in a run of transport disruption across London and the south-east. Rail passengers elsewhere in the capital are also facing a long closure over the festive period, with the Elizabeth line set to shut a section for ten days over Christmas for engineering works, while Stansted Airport passengers endured long queues on Sunday after a power surge hit security and baggage systems.
What passengers should do
c2c is accepting tickets on a range of alternative routes to soften the impact. Passengers can use several TfL bus routes, First Essex buses and Greater Anglia services with their c2c tickets, and replacement buses are also operating on certain routes.
Passengers are advised to check their journeys before travelling, allow extra time, and avoid travelling where possible. Compensation is available for journeys disrupted by more than 15 minutes.
A c2c spokesperson said: “On Friday 23 October, a GB Rail freight container train travelling from London Gateway partially derailed at Barking, causing significant damage to the railway infrastructure and disruption across the route.”
“Unfortunately, due to the extent of the damage, c2c services will continue to be impacted throughout the coming week, with trains not calling at Dagenham Dock, Rainham and Purfleet until further notice.”
Passengers planning to travel on the affected routes should check before they set out, as the position could change as repair work progresses — and the operator has not yet said when the three skipped stations will see trains call again.
