A PETITION has been started in order to highlight “overcrowding problems” on trains going through Harlow.

The petition states: https://www.change.org/greaterangliaovercrowding

“We the undersigned residents of the areas of East Hertfordshire, Borough of Broxbourne, West Essex and beyond call on Greater Anglia to urgently review and fix the December 2025 timetable change which has led to widespread overcrowding and a clear deterioration in peak-time services on the West Anglia Main Line.

What has happened?

In December 2025, Greater Anglia introduced a new timetable on the West Anglia Main Line, changing the pattern and origin of many morning peak services into London Liverpool Street.

Before this change, a significant proportion of morning peak-time trains serving stations in East Hertfordshire, the Borough of Broxbourne and West Essex originated from Stansted Airport, meaning they arrived with sufficient capacity for local commuters to board and find seats.

Under the new timetable, most, if not all, peak services now start from Cambridge or Ely, calling at many more stations before reaching our area.

As a result, trains are now routinely heavily loaded before they arrive at stations including Stansted Mountfitchet, Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth, Harlow Mill, Harlow Town, Roydon, Broxbourne, Cheshunt, and Waltham Cross, among others.

The problem

For thousands of commuters across our area, this timetable change has had a direct and negative impact on daily travel.

Residents report that:

Services between 07:00 and 08:30 which previously offered a realistic chance of a seat are now routinely standing-only

Trains are significantly more crowded than before December

Reduced-length trains are still appearing on services that are timetabled as full-length
Journeys are more uncomfortable and more stressful

Greater Anglia has stated that the new timetable provides more seats overall. However, this does not reflect the reality on the ground, where many of those seats are already occupied long before the train reaches our stations.

This change has not affected one community in isolation. It has had a shared impact across multiple towns and villages.

What we want to happen now

We are calling on Greater Anglia and the Department for Transport to:

Carry out a detailed, station-by-station review of passenger loading following the December timetable change

Restore a proportion of morning peak services starting from Stansted Airport
Ensure full-length trains operate consistently on all morning peak services

This petition will be submitted formally to Greater Anglia to show the strength of public feeling and to request that this timetable change is properly reviewed and corrected.