Network Rail announced their business plans for the few years during April. You can download the document (Adobe Acrobat) concerning c2c here.

Brief highlights are as follows:

Line speed
"An option to improve line speed on part of the Thameside route, which could contribute towards additional capacity or improved performance, is currently being considered."

Platform lengths
"It is generally accepted that the practical approach to continued growth is the incremental lengthening of trains, especially as this solution is flexible, caters for the wide range of different growth scenarios and makes better use of scarce and high value paths. On the Thameside route growing demand will require mainline trains to be extended to 12 car and on the Ockendon Branch and Tilbury loop, as the housing developments are built, platforms will need to be extended to permit the operation of 12 car trains." The document then goes on to say this is a "Potential DfT funded scheme being considered in Greater Anglia RUS"

Some other infrastructure improvements are listed as:

c2c Customer Information Systems refurbishment - Like for like renewal - due for completion 2009/10

Grays bay platform extension - Extend bay platform to take 8 car trains - due for completion 2008/09

Pitsea Overhead Line Equipment - Contact wire renewal Renewal  - due for completion 2007/08

West Ham additional stops - Additional signals to allow more trains to stop at West Ham - Early stages of development

The document goes on to list two other schemes which could impact passenger services :

Barking LUL District Line Link - Provision of a new fully signalled connection between Network Rail and LUL -Will allow transfer of engineering trains and new rolling stock.

This could impact late evening and weekend services as passenger services would have to give way to LUL engineering trains, although realistically any conflict is going to be slight.

Thames Haven branch doubling -Conversion of single track line to double track Improved capacity to facilitate services to a new deep sea port at Shell Haven.

If the proposed port at Shell Haven goes ahead, we will see a substantial increase in freight on the route, we will have to wait and see how well this would be integrated with the existing passenger services, although most freight will be moving out of the peak hours.