No trains at Bishop's Stortford on 17-18 October; buses run. The M11 J7 exit at Harlow shuts for two months from 19 October. This week's closures, checked.

No trains will stop at Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October. Engineering work closes all lines between Waltham Cross and Stansted Airport for the whole weekend, and buses replace trains. It is the biggest disruption on the town’s own line this autumn, and it is now under two weeks away.

The day after, Monday 19 October, National Highways is due to start about two months of work that closes the M11 northbound exit at junction 7, Harlow.

This week is quieter. The A120 slip roads at Stansted shut for two hours each on Monday night, and the M25 anticlockwise from junction 25 shuts for three nights. Nothing is booked on the A1250 through Hockerill.

Updated 4 October: this Bishop’s Stortford roadworks page was rechecked against the National Highways report of 2 October, Hertfordshire’s and Essex’s 30 September and 1 October notices and National Rail. Closures that ended last week have been removed.

Trains: the weekend of 17 and 18 October

National Rail’s notice says buses replace trains between Waltham Cross and Hertford East and between Waltham Cross and Stansted Airport all weekend. The routes it lists include Liverpool Street to Bishop’s Stortford, Stansted Airport and Cambridge, and the Stansted Express.

What still runs:

  • a reduced Greater Anglia service, every 30 minutes, between Liverpool Street or Stratford and Waltham Cross
  • trains between Stansted Airport and Cambridge
  • Great Northern and Thameslink between King’s Cross and Cambridge, where your Greater Anglia ticket is accepted at no extra cost

That last point matters for anyone going to London. Sawbridgeworth, Harlow and every station south to Cheshunt are inside the closed section too (National Rail, Waltham Cross to Stansted Airport, 17 to 18 October).

The week after, from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October, buses replace trains between Hertford East and Broxbourne. Network Rail is replacing a kilometre of track through Rye House, which a burst Thames Water sewer flooded in December 2025. That affects Ware, St Margarets and Rye House, not the Bishop’s Stortford line (National Rail, Hertford East, 19 to 25 October).

National Rail lists no other planned work on the Bishop’s Stortford line before 17 October. For live running on the day, use National Rail status and disruptions. Journey times and season ticket prices are on our trains to London page.

This week on the A120, M11 and M25

National Highways is cutting back and replanting the verges of the A120 between Priory Wood roundabout, at M11 junction 8, and Marks Farm roundabout at Braintree. It does the job one slip road at a time, two hours each, at night.

The slips nearest the town shut on Monday 5 October:

  • A120 eastbound entry slip at Stansted, 21:00 to 23:00
  • A120 westbound exit slip at Stansted, 23:00 to 01:00

The rest of the week works east along the A120 to Great Dunmow and Braintree. The Dunmow West slips, about nine miles east of Bishop’s Stortford, shut in two spells: the eastbound exit and entry from 01:00 to 05:00 on Tuesday morning, and the westbound exit and entry from 21:00 on Thursday 8 October to 05:00 on Friday.

On the motorways:

  • M25 anticlockwise, junction 25 to junction 23, closed with the junction 25 entry slip from 22:00 to 05:00 on Monday 5, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October, for testing works. Junction 25 is the A10 junction Waltham Cross, Cheshunt and Hoddesdon drivers use.
  • M11 southbound link to the M25 at junction 27, both directions, closed 22:00 to 05:30 on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 October, for resurfacing. That is the main way from Bishop’s Stortford onto the M25.
  • M25 clockwise, junction 27 to junction 28, closed with its slips and link road from 22:00 to 05:30 on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October.

Nothing is booked at M11 junction 8 itself this week. Its northbound exit to the Priory Wood roundabout and the southbound entry were closed on Friday night, 2 October, for the same verge work.

All of the above comes from the National Highways road closure report, last updated at 15:30 on Friday 2 October and covering the week to Thursday 8 October. It is refreshed on weekdays only.

Coming: two months on the M11 exit at Harlow

National Highways has given notice that it intends to close the M11 northbound exit slip road at junction 7, Harlow, for embankment reconstruction. The work is expected to take two months, starting on or after Monday 19 October. Traffic will carry on to junction 7A, rejoin the motorway southbound and come back to junction 7 (National Highways notice, Essex Chronicle, 24 September 2026).

A separate order puts a 24-hour 50mph limit on the anticlockwise M25 near junction 25 for about a week from Monday 12 October, for embankment, barrier and drainage work (National Highways notice, Hertfordshire Mercury, 24 September 2026).

Coming: 18 months of new road layout on Harlow’s Fifth Avenue

Essex County Council plans a 30mph limit on the A414 Fifth Avenue in Harlow, for about 440 metres either side of the East Herts boundary, from 22 October for 549 days. Harlow is about eight miles south of Bishop’s Stortford, and Fifth Avenue is the road north out of Harlow towards Eastwick and Gilston. The order also lifts the ban on turning right from Fifth Avenue into Burntmill Lane, and bans the right turn out of Burntmill Lane instead. The council says it needs the changes “while new road layout works are undertaken” (Essex County Council notice, 1 October 2026).

The district’s street closures: what the 1 October batch adds

Road and rail closures around Bishop's Stortford, 4 to 27 October 2026 Timeline. Priory Street in Ware is shut from 28 September for 54 days. The A1170 Ware Road in Hoddesdon runs to about 11 October. The A120 Stansted slip roads close for two hours each on the night of 5 October. The M25 anticlockwise from junction 25 closes overnight on 5, 6 and 7 October. From 12 October, Stansted Road in Stansted Mountfitchet closes for five days, and proposed orders would close roads in Little Hadham and Buntingford for five days and Nether Street in Widford for six days. There are no trains at Bishop's Stortford on 17 and 18 October. From 19 October the M11 northbound exit at junction 7, Harlow, closes for about two months, a proposed order would close Pelham Road between Braughing and Furneux Pelham for five days, and buses replace trains on the Hertford East line to 25 October. From 22 October a 30mph limit applies on the A414 Fifth Avenue in Harlow for 549 days. The next three weeks around Bishop's Stortford Dark green: order made or closure confirmed by the operator. Pale green: still at the "intends to make" stage. 4 Oct 7 Oct 10 Oct 13 Oct 16 Oct 19 Oct 22 Oct 25 Oct Priory Street, Ware A1170 Ware Road, Hoddesdon A120 Stansted slips (night of 5 Oct) M25 anticlockwise from J25 (nights) Stansted Road, Stansted Mountfitchet Little Hadham and Buntingford roads Nether Street, Widford No trains at Bishop's Stortford M11 junction 7 northbound exit Pelham Road, Braughing to Furneux Pelham Hertford East line, buses A414 Fifth Avenue, Harlow, 30mph Priory Street (54 days), the M11 junction 7 exit (two months) and Fifth Avenue (549 days) run off the right. Sources: Herts and Essex county council and National Highways notices, Public Notice Portal, 24 Sept to 1 Oct 2026; National Highways road closure report, 2 October 2026; National Rail engineering works notices. Graphic by Bishop's Stortford News
The rail closure on 17 and 18 October is the one that hits the town itself. Graphic by Bishop's Stortford News.

Hertfordshire County Council published its latest batch of closure orders on 1 October 2026. Everything new in it starts on or after 18 October, and all of the new orders are still at the “intends to make” stage, so the dates can move (Hertfordshire County Council notices, 1 October 2026).

Proposed from 19 October

The biggest is a five-day order from 19 October covering 16 lengths of road across the district. The ones nearest Bishop’s Stortford are:

  • Pelham Road, Braughing, and Braughing Road and Patient End, Furneux Pelham, about 3.5 kilometres from Friars Road to The Causeway. Furneux Pelham is about five miles north-west of the town. The signed route runs via the A120 Standon Road, Albury Road and Clapgate.
  • Gore Lane, Barwick, 719 metres, diverted via the A120 Kents Lane, Hadham Road and Bromley Lane.
  • Eastwick Hall Lane, Eastwick, its whole length off the A414, with no alternative route.
  • B181 Station Road, Stanstead Abbotts, 631 metres from the A414 and A1170 roundabout, and B1502 Stanstead Road, Great Amwell, 1.9 kilometres. Both are about nine miles south-west of the town.
  • B1197 London Road, Hertford, 1.3 kilometres from the A414 Rush Green roundabout to Vicarage Causeway.

The same order covers roads in Haultwick, Dane End, Cottered, Throcking, High Cross, Buntingford and Datchworth. It says only that “works are proposed”, without naming them.

A second order, for two days from 19 October, would close:

  • Frogs Hall Lane, Standon, and the lane through Wellpond Green, about a kilometre between its two junctions with the A120 Stortford Road. Wellpond Green is about five miles west of Bishop’s Stortford. The A120 itself stays open and is the diversion.
  • B1004 Ware Road, Widford, 260 metres from the bridleway, with a long signed route through Ware, Stanstead Abbotts and Hunsdon. Widford is about five miles south-west of the town.
  • A1170 Charlton Way, Hoddesdon, 520 metres from the High Street to The Brewery Road roundabout.
  • Church Lane, Wormley, 260 metres.

Made: the four short closures that were in doubt

Last week we flagged four short closures that had been advertised but not made. All four were made in the 1 October batch. Three have now passed. The one still to come is Warren Lane, Cottered, 60 metres, for two days from 8 October, to replace a telegraph pole. There is no alternative route, but access is kept.

Still running

  • Priory Street, Ware. About 100 metres from Ware Town Footpath 15, shut from 28 September for 54 days, for drainage. The signed route is Harriss Lane, Priory Road, the B1001 Watton Road and the A1170 through the Bridge Foot roundabout. Ware is about ten miles west of Bishop’s Stortford (Hertfordshire County Council notices, Hertfordshire Mercury, 24 September 2026).
  • A1170 Ware Road, Hoddesdon. Gas main works close about 829 metres, from the Bridle Way and Plomer Avenue roundabout to Westhill Road. The order came into effect on 7 September for five weeks of work, so expect it to run to about 11 October. The signed route runs via the A10 Amwell Link Road and Hoddesdon Link Road (notice published 3 September 2026). Hoddesdon is about 13 miles west of Bishop’s Stortford, in Broxbourne borough.
  • Cock Lane, Hoddesdon. About 650 metres, from 28 September for 12 days, so due to finish around 9 October.
  • Bridleway Buntingford 013, between Hare Street Road and The Causeway, closed from 11 September for up to six months for development works.

Proposed from 12 October

These were advertised on 24 September at the “intends to make” stage. None of them appeared as a made order in the 1 October batch, so treat the dates as provisional:

  • Little Hadham, Wellpond Green, Great Hormead, Buntingford and Tewin, one order for five days from 12 October. It covers the unnamed road 3U40 at Wellpond Green and Little Hadham (794 metres from Bromley Lane), Chapel End, Buntingford, Hall Lane, Great Hormead, and Archers Green Lane and Tewin Hill in Tewin. Little Hadham is about three miles west of Bishop’s Stortford.
  • Nether Street, Widford, 250 metres from The Croft, six days from 12 October, with no alternative route.
  • Ware, Barwick and Cheshunt, seven days from 12 October: Bowling Road, King George Road, Heath Drive and Rockfield Avenue in Ware, 1,700 metres of Gore Lane at Barwick, and 100 metres of Hammondstreet Road in Cheshunt.
  • A10 Great Cambridge Road, Cheshunt: no left turn into Church Lane for two days from 12 October, for utility work.
  • Woodstock Road, Broxbourne, 767 metres, five days from 12 October. (Hertfordshire County Council notices, Hertfordshire Mercury, 24 September 2026).

Read the small print on all of them. Each order lasts up to 18 months, but the works are expected to take only the time listed, and the restriction applies only on the days and at the times shown on the signs. An order being live does not mean the road is shut today.

Essex side: Stansted Mountfitchet, Hatfield Broad Oak and Roydon

Essex County Council’s orders from its 17 September batch still stand, and the works are scheduled for 12 October:

  • Stansted Road, Stansted Mountfitchet, about 60 metres starting 270 metres north east of Lower Street, for five days, for duct laying. Diverted via the B1051, B184, B1052 and B1383.
  • Collier Street and Green Hill, Hatfield Broad Oak, about 780 metres from Wood Row, for three days, for carriageway patching. Diverted via Hatfield Forest Road, Bush End and the B183 (Essex County Council notices, 17 September 2026).

Also from 12 October: Epping Road, Roydon closes for 30 metres at Low Hill Road for three days, for Affinity Water meter work, and Matching Green closes for 30 metres for five days, for UK Power Networks (Essex County Council notices, Epping Forest Guardian, 24 September 2026).

Uttlesford’s 1 October batch adds two closures north of the town later in the month. Hall Road, Elsenham, about four miles north-east, closes for 615 metres for two nights from 26 October, 19:00 to 03:00, for Openreach cabling. Bull Lane, Langley, near Clavering, closes for 50 metres for one day on 29 October, for tree cutting (Essex County Council notices, Uttlesford, 1 October 2026).

Ugley: a quiet lane proposal. Essex is proposing to designate Ugley Road, from the B1383 Cambridge Road to North Hall Road, plus parts of The Lodge Road and Ugley Hall Road, as a Quiet Lane at Patmore End. A public meeting is at 11am on Tuesday 6 October in the Keys Room, Ugley Village Hall, CM22 6HR (Essex County Council notice, Dunmow Broadcast, 24 September 2026).

If you want to object: Trapstyle Road, Ware

The Horns Road consultation in Hertford closed on 24 September. One is still open: Trapstyle Road, Park Road and The Brickfields, Ware, where the county proposes new no waiting at any time restrictions for road safety. Reference EH01426. Objections close 8 October 2026.

The plans can be seen at Farnham House in Stevenage during office hours, or online at the county’s traffic orders pages under East Herts. Objections go in writing to tro.team@hertfordshire.gov.uk, or to the TRO Services Team, Postal Point (CHO242), Farnham House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, SG1 2ST, stating the grounds they are made on.

Apton Road, in the town itself

The temporary closure order for a 44 metre length of Apton Road in Bishop’s Stortford, for utility service works, came into effect on 27 July 2026 and runs for six months. The works themselves were expected to take about five days, and the restriction only bites on the days shown on the signs.

We could not confirm today whether that work has been carried out. Treat the order as live and the road as normally open unless the signs say otherwise. The diversion, if it is in place, runs via Newtown Road, the B1529 South Street and back into Apton Road (notice published 8 July 2026).

Where to check local roadworks

Hertfordshire County Council does not publish a roadworks list of its own. Its roadworks page offers a map hosted on one.network, the commercial platform councils and utility firms file into. The map loads without an account; the list view asks you to sign in, and one.network’s own data feeds are not open to the public.

Statutory closure orders for individual streets are published as public notices in the local paper and carried on the Public Notice Portal. That is where every street closure above came from.

For the A120 east of junction 8, the road is Essex County Council’s. Essex Highways was checked on 27 September and carries no current closure item on the A120 near Bishop’s Stortford, Stansted or Great Dunmow. East Herts District Council has no roadworks function of its own and refers everything to the county.

The scheme that will actually change things: A10 Cheshunt

The largest highways project in this paper’s patch is not in Bishop’s Stortford at all. Hertfordshire County Council, working with Broxbourne Borough Council, is designing upgrades to three junctions on the A10 Great Cambridge Road through Cheshunt:

  • Church Lane, where right turns onto the A10 from both sides would be stopped and the signals retimed to push more traffic along the A10.
  • College Road, where the southbound A10 approach would be widened to three lanes and new pedestrian crossings added on the north and east sides.
  • Lieutenant Ellis Way and Winston Churchill Way roundabout, which would become a cut-through or “hamburger” roundabout, with straight-ahead lanes running through the middle so A10 traffic does not have to go round.

Underpasses and flyovers at Lieutenant Ellis Way were looked at through the Broxbourne Local Plan and dropped as too costly and too land-hungry. The scheme also adds walking and cycling routes along Church Lane and College Road, between Theobalds Lane and Albury Walk, and alongside the A10 between Church Lane and Halfhide Lane.

The council has run public engagement and is refining the design using junction queue surveys. No construction dates have been published (Hertfordshire County Council). The council says bus services should not be affected, because almost nothing runs along that stretch of the A10 today.

The routes that matter

  • A1250 Hadham Road and Dunmow Road, through Hockerill. The town’s principal east to west route and its worst pinch point. It links Hadham Road in the west to the Dunmow Road climb up to the A120 in the east, through the Hockerill traffic lights. There is no parallel road.
  • A120 Bishop’s Stortford bypass to M11 junction 8. The route to Stansted, Braintree and the motorway. When it closes for overnight work, the signed diversion runs back through the town on the A1250, which is why bypass closures are felt on Hadham Road.
  • A1184 south to Sawbridgeworth and Harlow. Follows the Stort valley and is the road that floods at Spellbrook when the river comes up.
  • A10 through Waltham Cross, Cheshunt, Broxbourne and Hoddesdon. A separate corridor entirely, feeding the M25 at junction 25, and the subject of the scheme above.

Parking in Bishop’s Stortford, and the £3.70 you are probably wasting

East Herts Council runs eight car parks in Bishop’s Stortford. They do not all charge the same, and the difference for a full day is large. Every figure below was rechecked against the council’s own car park pages on 20 September 2026 and is unchanged.

Cost of parking in Bishop's Stortford, Northgate End against the standard town tariff Paired bar chart comparing East Herts Council car park charges in Bishop's Stortford. Northgate End multi-storey charges £1.05 for one hour, £2.10 for two, £2.70 for three, £3.30 for four, £3.80 for five and £4.40 all day. The standard tariff at Apton Road, Jackson Square and Link Road charges £1.25 for one hour, £2.50 for two, £3.70 for three, £5.00 for four, £6.20 for five and £8.10 all day at Apton Road. Northgate End is cheaper at every duration and £3.70 cheaper for a full day. Northgate End is cheaper at every single duration Monday to Saturday charges, East Herts Council car parks in Bishop's Stortford, checked 20 September 2026. Northgate End multi-storey Apton Road, Jackson Square, Link Road 1 hour £1.05 £1.25 2 hours £2.10 £2.50 3 hours £2.70 £3.70 4 hours £3.30 £5.00 5 hours £3.80 £6.20 All day £4.40 £8.10 Jackson Square and Link Road are short stay, so five hours is their maximum. The £8.10 all-day figure is Apton Road. Sundays and bank holidays: £1.70 all day at Northgate End, £2.10 everywhere else. Christmas Day is free. Blue Badge holders park free for up to three hours in all of them. Apton Road gives 30 minutes free with a ticket.
A full day at Apton Road costs £8.10. The same day at Northgate End costs £4.40, and it is a five-minute walk further.

Northgate End (CM23 2ES) is the multi-storey, 482 bays, including 54 electric vehicle charging bays on PodPoint machines, 31 disabled bays and 10 motorcycle bays. Vehicle access runs 07:00 to 23:00, exit is open 24 hours, and charges apply 07:30 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday. The top deck shuts at 23:00 and does not reopen until 07:00. Charging costs 44p per kWh and is billed separately from the parking, and there is a five hour maximum stay in a charging bay.

Jackson Square (CM23 3XQ) is the biggest at 708 spaces but is short stay only. The rest are Apton Road (86), Basbow Lane (71), Crown Terrace (65), Elm Road (47, long stay), Grange Paddocks (80 to 150 depending on the area) and Link Road (100).

Market traders have their own rate on Thursdays and Saturdays, the town’s two market days: £4.80 at Apton Road, £5.00 at Link Road.

All eight are covered by the council’s car park pages, which carry the individual tariffs and space counts.

Station parking

The station car parks are not the council’s: a multi-storey on Anchor Street (CM23 3BP) and a surface car park beside the station (CM23 3BL). Both are a few minutes from the platforms.

What it means for you

  • Travelling by train on 17 or 18 October? There are no trains at Bishop’s Stortford or Sawbridgeworth all weekend. Buses replace them, and your ticket is also valid on Great Northern and Thameslink between King’s Cross and Cambridge.
  • Heading for Stansted on the A120 late on Monday? The eastbound entry slip at Stansted shuts 21:00 to 23:00, and the westbound exit 23:00 to 01:00.
  • Joining the M25 from the M11 late on Monday or Tuesday? The link at junction 27 is shut 22:00 to 05:30. On Monday to Wednesday nights the M25 anticlockwise is also shut from junction 25.
  • Using the M11 at Harlow after 19 October? The northbound exit at junction 7 is due to close for about two months. Plan on turning at junction 7A.
  • In Little Hadham, Widford, Stansted Mountfitchet or Hatfield Broad Oak? Note 12 October. All four have closures scheduled to start that week.
  • Driving between Braughing and Furneux Pelham, or along Frogs Hall Lane? Both are proposed for closure from 19 October.
  • Driving into Ware from Watton Road or the High Street? Priory Street is shut until about 21 November.
  • Live on Trapstyle Road, Park Road or The Brickfields in Ware? You have until 8 October to object to the new waiting restrictions.
  • Parking in Bishop’s Stortford for the day? Northgate End at £4.40 saves you £3.70 against Apton Road.