The A12 at Romford loses a lane to 11 October for Thames Water. Emerson Park and Harold Hill roads close 5 to 9 October, and c2c's drought timetable carries on.

The A12 through Romford is down a lane until Sunday 11 October. Thames Water is working on Eastern Avenue East between North Street and Havering Road, and TfL has the restriction booked to run until 23:59 that night. The road stays open.

This is our running guide to Romford roadworks and travel, updated on every visit. Below: the A12 works, the Emerson Park and Harold Hill closures next week, why c2c is still on a drought timetable, the Limehouse platform closure that starts on 17 October, and what parking near the station involves. Everything is linked to its official source.

Check today’s closures first

Roadworks move faster than any page can, so these are the live sources worth bookmarking:

Live now: one lane shut on the A12

TfL’s A12 feed carries one set of works in Havering this morning. Its record, TIMS-235834, says:

  • Where: A12 Eastern Avenue East, between the A125 North Street and the B175 Havering Road. TfL lists the affected carriageway as northbound.
  • What: reduced lane capacity for Thames Water works. No closure.
  • When: started at 10:30 on Friday 2 October, booked to end at 23:59 on Sunday 11 October.
  • Impact: TfL rates it minimal. Its latest update, posted just after 01:00 today, says “Traffic is flowing well.”

The record is on the TfL Unified API’s A12 disruption feed. The A12 slip road closure at the M25 that was on this page on 22 September has gone from the feed. The only other A12 entry today is an overnight tunnel closure at George Green in Redbridge, which ended at 05:00.

Gallows Corner: open, limits still undated

The flyover and the roundabout have been open in every direction since 21 September, with all traffic management and diversions removed (TfL, 21 September 2026).

The 20mph speed limit and 7.5-tonne weight restriction are the open question. TfL’s project page now describes them in the past tense: “For years, there had been speed and weight restrictions.” It says the strengthened flyover “allows for the removal” of them. It still gives no date and we have found no order lifting them. Follow the signs on the flyover until TfL says otherwise. The full story is in our report on the reopening.

Closing around the borough next week

Havering Council’s latest statutory traffic notice was published in the Romford Recorder on 25 September 2026, signed by Imran Kazalbash, Director Environment. It is on the Public Notice Portal. No newer Havering notice had appeared on the portal when we checked this morning. Every closure ends earlier if the work finishes early.

Monday 5 to Friday 9 October:

  • Longtown Road and Longtown Close, Harold Hill: closed for resurfacing, 08:00 to 17:00 on Monday 5 October. Parking enforcement is suspended in Longtown Road, Longtown Close and Daventry Road. Diversion via Daventry Road.
  • Rutland Approach, Emerson Park: closed between Hubbards Chase and Rutland Drive for resurfacing, 08:00 to 17:00 on Tuesday 6 October.
  • Fentiman Way, Hornchurch: closed, with access only, for maintenance, 09:30 to 15:30 daily from Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 October. No diversion.
  • Rutland Drive, Emerson Park: closed between its two junctions with Essex Gardens for resurfacing, 08:00 to 17:00 on Wednesday 7 October. Cheshire Close closes at its junction with Rutland Drive.
  • Essex Gardens, Emerson Park: closed between Hubbards Chase and Wingletye Lane for resurfacing, 09:30 to 15:00 on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October. On Thursday, Lincoln Close, Berkshire Way, Surrey Drive and the eastern end of Rutland Drive close at their junctions with it. On Friday, it is Gloucester Avenue, Oxford Avenue and the western end of Rutland Drive. The main diversion is Hubbards Chase and Wingletye Lane.

For the three Emerson Park schemes, parking enforcement is suspended across Rutland Drive, Rutland Approach, Essex Gardens, Hubbards Chase and Cheshire Close, and for Essex Gardens also in Berkshire Way, Surrey Drive, Oxford Avenue and Gloucester Avenue. That is most of the estate for the whole week, so expect cars to move around.

All five are in Part 1 of the notice, which is the council’s proposal rather than its made order. Treat the dates as the plan rather than a certainty. The council’s following notice normally moves them into Part 2, the made order, as it did for Lodge Court and Trowbridge Road last month.

What has ended. Every closure on this page last time has finished: Lodge Court in Hornchurch (28 and 29 September), the New Road bus lane between Marsh Way and Manor Way in Rainham (tree planting, 28 and 29 September), Trowbridge Road in Harold Hill (30 September and 1 October) and Park Drive in Gidea Park (overnight sewer cleaning, 1 and 2 October). Ennerdale Avenue, Spenser Crescent and the Upminster school open evening parking bans all ran in the week of 21 September.

What we could not confirm today. Utility street works beyond the A12 are not in the council’s notice, and neither one.network’s map nor the London roadworks register can be read automatically, so we have not listed them. Check the live map before you set off.

Trains: c2c’s drought timetable is past its published end

c2c has run an amended timetable since 18 August, now its seventh week. The cause has not changed. The dry weather shrank the clay under the track, the track dropped and became uneven, and speed restrictions followed.

National Rail’s notice says the timetable continues “until further notice”. It was last updated at 08:28 on Monday 14 September, and it still says that the amended timetable is only loaded into journey planners up to and including Friday 2 October, and that “it is not yet known what service will look like for c2c on Saturday 3 October and beyond” (National Rail service disruption notice). That is today. c2c’s own news page on the timetable, last updated on 11 September, says only that the restrictions stay until the ground recovers. So check every journey on the day.

What the amended timetable means at Upminster:

  • Trains towards London depart at least six minutes earlier than normal.
  • Trains from London to stations between Upminster and Shoeburyness arrive at least six minutes later than normal.
  • Short-notice cancellations may not clear from journey planners until 24 hours ahead.
  • Tickets are accepted at no extra cost on Greater Anglia between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria in both directions.

Limehouse, from Saturday 17 October. c2c is closing Limehouse’s London-bound platform, platform 1, to replace its timber decking. From 20:45 on 17 October until 04:00 on Monday 2 November, trains from Essex will not stop there, and c2c says there will be no change onto the DLR at Limehouse for trains arriving from Essex (c2c, 23 September 2026). From Upminster, West Ham is the earlier place to change, for the DLR and the Jubilee line.

Upminster station: National Rail’s station page says the lifts between platform 1 and the main entrance are out of order. It gives no repair date.

The Elizabeth line, at Romford, Gidea Park and Harold Wood, has nothing planned that touches the Shenfield branch before late November. TfL’s planned track closures document, published on Friday 2 October, lists Elizabeth line work only in the west and in central London through October and early November. The first weekend that affects Romford is 28 and 29 November, when the Elizabeth line closes between Paddington and both Abbey Wood and Shenfield, and the Liberty line closes between Romford and Upminster. Our Romford to London train times page has the fares and journey times.

Buses: the SL12 is running

The Superloop SL12 started on Saturday 5 September, between Rainham, Ferry Lane Industrial Area and Gants Hill Station via Elm Park, Romford town centre and Newbury Park. It runs every 12 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 15 minutes in the evenings and all day Sunday, operated by Stagecoach London with new electric double deckers (TfL, changes to bus routes).

The parking changes that made its Rainham terminus possible were made on 27 August and came into force on 31 August, four days before the first bus. The council removed the loading bay on Ferry Lane opposite Global House, banned loading and waiting there, put in a bus stop and stand, and added two more bus stops on Lamson Road near the Ferry Lane junction (Havering Council order notice, published 28 August 2026).

Routes 86, N86 and 498 also changed the stops they use in Romford town centre on 5 September. Our guide to the SL12 lists every stop.

The key routes, for orientation

  • A12 (Eastern Avenue / Colchester Road): the borough’s spine, London-bound to Wanstead and the M11, Essex-bound to the M25 at junction 28. A TfL red route, so incidents appear on TfL’s status pages.
  • A127 (Southend Arterial Road): east out of Gallows Corner towards the M25 at junction 29 and Southend. Also a red route.
  • A118 (London Road / High Road): the old main road through Romford town centre towards Ilford, and the usual local alternative when the A12 clogs.
  • A125 (Rush Green Road / South Street): the north-south line through the town centre towards Dagenham.
  • A1306 (New Road): the Rainham corridor, serving Beam Park and the riverside industrial areas.

When the A12 fails, the pressure lands on Ardleigh Green Road, Gubbins Lane and the A118 almost immediately. Those were the roads carrying the Gallows Corner diversions for most of the last eighteen months, and they have their capacity back.

Parking: the station has none, the town centre has plenty

Romford station has no car park at all. National Rail’s station page lists no parking spaces, just a drop-off point and cycle storage, so park-and-ride here means using a town-centre car park and walking to South Street. The realistic options:

  • The Brewery: 1,767 spaces across the surface and multi-storey car parks, ANPR ticketless, open 24 hours. Evenings are a £2 flat rate from 7pm to 7am, and Sundays are free in the multi-storey (The Brewery parking page).
  • The Liberty: an 800-space multi-storey with a £7.50 all-day offer on weekdays (standard tariff £2.40 for up to two hours, rising to £15 for 8 to 24 hours), free on Sundays, plus Tesla superchargers (The Liberty parking page).
  • The Mercury Mall: 1,000 spaces over two levels off Western Road, £1.20 for up to two hours, £10 over eight hours, free on Sundays, two hours free for Asda customers spending £5 or more (Mercury Mall parking page).
  • Council car parks: Havering runs nine car parks in and around Romford, including Angel Way, Como Street and the 160-space Market Place car park, all taking RingGo cashless payment. Note the council’s own catch: in the Romford, Hornchurch and Upminster town-centre and station-area car parks, the first 30 minutes are not free, unlike the rest of the borough. Full detail on our parking in Romford page.

Frequently asked questions

What roadworks are on the A12 in Romford?

One lane is shut on A12 Eastern Avenue East between North Street and Havering Road for Thames Water works. TfL’s record started on 2 October and is booked to end at 23:59 on Sunday 11 October. The road stays open and TfL rates the impact as minimal.

Which roads are closed in Havering next week?

Longtown Road in Harold Hill on Monday 5 October. Rutland Approach in Emerson Park on Tuesday 6, Rutland Drive on Wednesday 7, and Essex Gardens on Thursday 8 and Friday 9. Fentiman Way in Hornchurch is access only from 09:30 to 15:30 each day from 6 to 9 October. All five are proposals in the council’s 25 September notice, so the dates are the plan rather than a made order.

Is Gallows Corner open, and is the 20mph limit gone?

The junction has been fully open since 21 September 2026. TfL says the strengthened flyover allows for the removal of the 20mph speed limit and the 7.5-tonne weight restriction, but it has not given a date. Follow the signs on the flyover.

Is c2c still running a different timetable?

Yes. National Rail’s notice says the amended timetable continues until further notice. Trains from Upminster towards London leave at least six minutes earlier than normal. The notice has not been updated since 14 September and says the service from 3 October was not yet known, so check each journey on the day.

Will c2c trains stop at Limehouse in October?

Not towards London from 20:45 on Saturday 17 October until 04:00 on Monday 2 November, while c2c works on platform 1. There is no change onto the DLR at Limehouse for trains from Essex in that period.

Where can I check live roadworks in Havering?

The council points residents to one.network’s live map for street works and TfL’s status pages for the A12 and A127. Havering does not subscribe to one.network’s future-works service, so upcoming works can be missing from the map until they start. Its own statutory notices, published in the Romford Recorder and on the Public Notice Portal, are the legal record.

Does Romford station have a car park?

No. National Rail lists no parking at Romford station. The Brewery, the Liberty and the Mercury Mall between them hold over 3,500 spaces within a short walk, and all three are free on Sundays.

Sources

Closures change at short notice, and the short-dated works listed above will roll over within days. Check the live sources before you travel. Last checked 3 October 2026.