London – London Liverpool Street (Overground)

Heading to Cheshunt, I realised two things, that firstly there was a direct Overground service there and, also, that it departed from London Liverpool Street railway station. Network Rail, with their usual quality of customer service, didn’t seem to have much information on where I could catch this service from. Although, fortunately, it transpired to be much easier than I had expected as the Overground service uses the standard platforms.

There is some Overground signage on the platforms, although it probably needs better signage around the concourse, with my train departing from Platform 1.

The service got busier as we progressed towards Cheshunt, but not dramatically so. The carriages could probably do with an upgrade at some stage, but they’re clean and sufficiently comfortable given the short journey length.

Disembarking at Cheshunt.

And, here we are, the journey takes around 30 minutes and it ran perfectly to schedule. The journey is meant to cost £4 via London Overground, although it’s possible to go by train which is slightly quicker and also more expensive. I’m hoping that my Contactless card was charged the appropriate amount, with I assume the lower amount always being charged. Although, I’m unsure how that works exactly….

Personally, I’d rather that this service was returned to the rail network as I can’t quite see what benefit Transport for London are adding by operating this journey. It was run by Abellio Greater Anglia until 2015 and there appears to have been nearly no investment in the service since. If it had continued to be part of Greater Anglia, then perhaps it would have received new carriages with power and more comfortable service.